Every Breath You Take
by Mrsbadass24
Summary: Daryl survived his accident in the woods, but did he have help? Faint images of a woman plague his mind. Is she a memory or a figment of his imagination? Soon, Carl is also saved by a mysterious girl in the woods and Daryl's suspicions are confirmed. Who is she and why is she helping them? Whoever she is, she's captured the archers attention and possibly his heart.
1. Earth Angel

**This story is a Daryl/OC, it begins in season 2 when Daryl falls off his horse looking for Sophia. We will learn more about Emily as the chapter progress. **

**I would welcome any helpful advice to help me improve my writing. I really want to do these characters justice. Daryl needs a woman. Like bad haha! I hope you enjoy this story and the character, if not well... sorry, but I won't let that keep me from writing her way to Daryl. Thanks for checking out my story!**

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The sun is out, casting beams of golden light through the trees. It made for a beautiful walk through the woods. The days are getting colder. Winter would be here in a matter of months. But on this particular day, it was rather warm. Therefore, the need to soak in the suns warm rays was very tempting to say the least. There wasn't time for such things in these dark days though, besides, there's a little girl missing in these woods and Emily Cooper is bound determined to find her. The group she'd been spying on had found a nice place to stay, luckily with good people it seemed and it sounded like Carl is going to be alright. _Thank God. _She also found a place of her own to hole up in as well. A large, abandoned house about a mile away from the farm. It wasn't bad, close enough that she could keep a watchful eye on the group when needed and far enough way that they wouldn't be able to find her easily. She had been doing well at concealing her presence, almost slipped up a couple times though. Daryl almost found her hiding in the bushes a ways away when they found that church. She'd have to be more careful where the archer is concerned. If it hadn't been for the little girl missing, she was sure Daryl would have figured out that she has been following them for some time now. He'd been picking up pieces of her trail here and there, mistaking them for Sophia's. She honestly felt bad that she was most likely giving him hope. False hope. But she couldn't let them find her. She tried making sure she covered her tracks, but Daryl is too skilled of a tracker.

Emily didn't know much about the rugged bowman. What did she know? She had everyone else mostly figured out, they were pretty easy to read. Daryl was not. Let's see… there's Rick, trying to be the leader, but clearly unsure about his decisions. He was a decent man living in an indecent time. That, usually, is never a good mix. She understood his struggle, but unfortunately he is going to have to sack up eventually. There's Shane, whom she did _not_ like, he is a _raging_ asshole. She was half tempted to do everyone in the group a favor and put a bullet in him. But that's not what she is here for. She's here to help. This isn't her group, that's not her call to make. Lori, wife of Rick and mother to Carl, did her best to play the devoted, loving wife role. But, the way Shane looks at her and she him, they had clearly banged. _Oh yeah, definitely. _If they hadn't yet, they would. Maybe she shouldn't be so "judgy" there might be more to the story and she could only see from a distance. Carl is just a typical kid, a dumbass, but a good kid. The Korean, Glen, was probably the most well rounded character of them all. Smart and kind; she liked him. Then there's Dale. Dale is a really good guy, too good and with a mentality like that, good ole' Dale isn't going to last long. He means well, but he can certainly get on your last nerve at times. T-Dog seems okay, she is glad that cut on his arm didn't do him in. Who else… oh yes, Andrea. _Ugh, _she gets under the skin alright and so far all Carol has been is a frantic mother, can't blame her though. She didn't know much about the ones who owned the farm yet. They saved Carl's life and are letting them stay for the time being, but she wasn't sure how long that would last.

Daryl seems like a nice, decent guy. She wasn't so sure in the beginning, but he seemed to really care about Sophia and what he said to Carol about how they were going to find her and she'd be just fine… She knew then he just like to put up a front, he cares, he just doesn't like to show it all the time. Instead, we get a pissy, dick. _Whatever. _She can definitely relate to him with the whole hide-your-feelings-or-else, she'd been there herself and for that reason, he was the one Emily was most worried for. She'd learn more about him as time goes on, after all, she's only known them for a few weeks.

They didn't know of her, of course. She was just scavenging through cars on the highway when they pulled up. She hid quickly inside one of the vehicles, next to a rotting corpse. _That was fun. _She had no idea what kind of people they were, that's why she wanted to observe, spy, whatever you want to call it before she'd even consider introducing herself to them. She hadn't yet, obviously. She was just unsure of how they'd react to her and doubted they would let her anywhere near them. Plus with them losing a kid, she didn't want to give them something more to worry about, her presence would only stress them out further and she wanted to help. What else is there to do? They seemed like good people, most of them. Besides, she's been doing well on her own, she didn't need to be part of a group. Never even considered it, actually. Things go wrong in groups. In her mind they made you weaker, having to worry about so many people and making attachments… she couldn't bear it if she lost someone she cared for. She never wanted to feel that way again.

Emily walked along, leaves crunching beneath her. She breathed in the fresh air and sighed a little frustrated. She is skilled in many things, tracking is not one of them, it's not shocking that she hadn't happened upon Sophia yet. Being out here looking for as long as she has made it feel like she's walked the whole state of Georgia by now. _Phew! It's about time for a rest. _She stopped to lean against a tree and took out her canteen for a drink of water when she thought she heard a horse neigh. She stopped, looked around. She should probably get off the path. She got behind the tree she was leaning on and soon she could hear the _clop, clop _of horse hooves. It was coming from up ahead. She poked her head out, just a little, enough to see the horse and its rider.

Daryl, got off the horse with a gentle grunt and walked over to the side of the road that sloped down into a pond below. Something had his attention. He slowly began making his way down there. Was he getting water? Emily didn't want to get too close and risk spooking his horse, so when Daryl was out of site she ran to find better cover, he was clearly going in her direction.

"Sophia!" She heard him call from down below.

Sophia? Did he find her?! The question was soon answered when Daryl made his way back up with no Sophia in site, just a doll. That's something though, right? A doll is more than anything _she's_ found yet. Daryl got back up on his horse and continued on. Emily ducked in the shrubs, trying not to move a muscle nor make a sound until it she could hear the faint sound of the horse trotting away. She waited in a crouch, anxiously, looking at the tip of her boots. _Shit, was that a hole? _She went to touch the side of her right shoe when she jumped in fright.

Something spooked the horse, it whinnied and neighed out of fear. Worried, Emily jerked her head up to see what was happening. Daryl was trying to get control of the horse, but did not succeed.

"Whoah!" He cried.

The horse stood on its hind legs, knocking Daryl off in the process. He tumbled down the slope, into the pond below with a _splash! _Of course the horse ran off without a care for its riders well being.

Emily exhaled like she couldn't believe what just happened. Afraid for his life she got up and ran like hell to the place where he slid off. Her ponytail whipping from side to side like crazy. Should she go after the horse? He would need a ride after, if he wasn't dead that is. She skidded to a halt, breathing hard, eyes frantically searching down below for him. She crouched down and held onto a tree trunk to make sure she wouldn't take a tumble herself. _There_. He was alive! But hurt, bad. Her heart sunk a little as she saw the bolt sticking out of his side. He crawled his way to shore, cut off the sleeves of his shirt to wrap the arrow, so it wouldn't move and cause him more pain. He grabbed his side, panting in pain, looking up to see all the work he would have to do to reach the top again.

_Yeah, I definitely don't envy you dude. _She thought.

Daryl got up, was about to walk over to the cliff side when he turned to a rustling in the bushes behind him. It wasn't her, so that left only one other option. Walkers.

_Of course._ Emily rolled her eyes. _And you don't have your damn bow!_

Emily was preparing herself to intervene if need be, hoping it wouldn't have to come to that though. Daryl had grabbed a big stick and went back to the pond, searching for his lost crossbow. Once he found it, he reached in the water and pulled it out. Daryl slung it on his back and walked back to make the climb to the top. Not bothering to look at whatever was in the bushes, he just needed to get out of there.

_Good. _Emily watched intently, she wasn't going anywhere until she made sure he could get back to the farm safely. What came next was rough to watch. Daryl struggled with the pain of the bolt in his side, he was slowly making progress and was almost to the top, but his strength was failing him. How easily it would be for her to run around to the other side and offer him a hand, but she refrained. He could do this! Daryl grabbed onto a tree root to pull him self up, but it was giving away in the dirt. He tried to grab hold of something else to keep from falling, but it was too late. The branch gave and he fell back down. She winced at his pain with him as he hit the cliffside with every part of his body. When he finally hit the ground, he laid there, unconscious or dead. She wasn't sure, only one way to find out. She couldn't just sit here anymore, he needed help. If he saw her, he saw her.

She quickly sat down, scooting to the ledge, planning on sliding down on her ass. She began to ease her way down. _Slowly. Slowly._ Off she went. Heels digging into the ground, grabbing onto trees and their roots to slow down her momentum, Emily winced as some of the twigs left scratches on her arms. The dirt turned into solid rock, the only thing that would stop her now is the water.

A cool, wet rush hit her legs. The water splashed onto her face and got in her eyes as she hit the pool. She blinked, rubbed her eyes and hurried through the water to Daryl.

He laid groaning, eyes slowly opening, but she doubted he could make sense of what he was seeing. Judging by the blank look on his face. He must've hit his head. How was she going to get him out? She couldn't carry him.

Daryl looked right her and her breathing stilled. "Merle," He rasped.

_Merle? _Who the hell is Merle?

"Shitty day bro," He continued.

_Oh good, he's delirious. Great. _"Uh huh," Emily replied. She knew he wasn't talking to her, he thought he was talking to whomever this Merle guy is, but that didn't keep her from replying. "Pretty shitty, alright,"

"Screw you," Daryl mumbled.

The corner of Emily's mouth lifted and she scoffed. "Well, screw you too man." She was finding humor in his delirious state, was that too insensitive? C'mon, it was a _little_ funny. If he thinks he's talking to someone else it did say how serious that blow to the head really was. She bent down to look him over for further injuries. It was hard to tell with how dirty he was. In an apocalyptic world showers weren't necessary to survive nor were they available much these days. He was bleeding from the temple, matting his light brown hair. The blood ran down the side of his face, reaching the circle beard that he had.

"A girl…" Daryl went on. Emily froze thinking that he meant her. "They lost a little girl,"

Oh Sophia, Emily sighed. "I know, I'm trying to help you find her. We gotta help you first though,"

"Shut up," He seemed to reply.

Emily shook her head, amused. "Now is that anyway to talk to someone whose trying to save your dumb ass?"

Emily curiously stared at him for a moment. This was the closest she'd ever been to him. Even though the grime on his face made him look rugged and dirty, she thought he was rather good looking for the most part. Sharp blue eyes, sharp jawline, muscular arms… a bolt sticking out of his side… Emily sighed, okay that's gotta come out before they try anything.

There was a growl that came from behind them. Daryl continued to mumble something, but Emily didn't hear what he was saying. She quickly turned around to find that a walker had managed to crawl towards them and was almost to Daryl's feet hoping to catch a quick bite. _Shit! Quit admiring luny toon there and come back to reality, would you?_

She reached for her knife at her waistband, but instead of feeling the handle, she felt nothing. It was gone! She must've lost it while she was sliding down the hill. "Dammit!" She yelled. She frantically looked around for something, anything. She checked Daryl to see if he had a spare knife, he didn't, that she could see. The stick that Daryl used to find the crossbow with laid a few feet away, she scrambled for it. She grabbed the stick, got up, turned back and smashed the walkers face in. She hit it and kept hitting it until she was satisfied that it wasn't going to get back up again. Looking down and panting from the adrenaline rush, she observed her handiwork. _That was close._ Of course, just when you think it's safe again, this world loves to prove you wrong. Another walker came out from the bushes. There were probably more in there that she hadn't seen yet and all she had was mere stick! Boy this day just keeps getting better. She knelt back down to Daryl, enough games.

Emily grabbed his arms and shook him, she had to wake him up! "Daryl! Daryl!"

_Please snap out of it!_

Daryl replied with. "I ain't no body's bitch,"

Emily stopped and raised her eyebrows. "That so huh?" What kind of conversation was he having with himself? She looked back, the walker is getting closer. She looked down at his crossbow and then at the bolt in his side. Well… one way or another that would have to come out and Daryl is showing no signs of coming around. Emily sucked in a sharp breath. "Well, today you're my bitch. Sorry about this,"

She was hoping the pain of pulling the arrow out would bring him back to reality. If so, as soon as she took down the walker down, she'd have to leave him. She grabbed the bolt with both hands and pulled as Daryl screamed. The bolt came free. Grabbing the crossbow she pulled back the draw string, struggling a little, it was harder than she thought. She grunted until it finally clicked. The walker was so close she could reach out her arm and touch it. Panicking, she loaded the bolt and looked up right as the walker was about to bite her in the face. She gasped, falling backwards, she pointed the crossbow at her target and fired. The walker collapsed at her feet with the bolt sticking out of its head.

Panting, Emily watched the walker fall and breathed relief, letting her head fall back. She tried to steady her breathing and took a glance at Daryl, who had lifted his head and stared dumbly at the fallen walker.

Startled at his awareness she sat up, crawled over and put a hand to his face. "Daryl?" She asked softly. "Are you with me?"

He squinted at her like he couldn't figure out what he was seeing. "W-whaa…" He closed his eyes, unconscious.

Annoyed with his unconscious state, she sighed. Well, he replied to her, sort of. Seems that whatever delusion he was having is gone, he should be fine when he wakes back up— er… better than he was at least. It was most likely okay for her to leave now, but she'd make sure that area was clear of walkers before she did. What would have happened to him if she hadn't been here? He be walker chow for sure. She didn't want to think about that. She grabbed his make-shift bandage and tied it more securely and tightly to his wound.

_There you go._

Emily looked at his unconscious form once more. She found herself not wanting to leave him, but she had to. She wouldn't be far from him obviously, its just…

Just what? Emily huffed, it's time to go. But, she's down a knife. That won't do. She looked at the bloody bolt sticking out of the walker she put down. Daryl had more at camp, he'd fine without one little ole' bolt. Plus, he had an extra with him, so she wasn't leaving him defenseless. She stood, pulled the bolt out of the walker and went to see if there were any more waker in the area. As she approached the bush that the second walker came from, she heard Daryl start to stir and quickly dipped into the bush for cover, watching from afar.

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**Don't forget to leave a review! **


	2. When Doves Cry

** Every Breath You Take  
** Chapter 2 - When Doves Cry

**Thank you to those who have decided to follow this story! Welcome and I hope you enjoy this second chapter.**

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It was going to get dark soon, but luckily Daryl finally made it up the ledge of the cliff as Emily anxiously watched from below. Apparently, that squirrel he cut open and ate, raw, gave him the energy he needed to make the climb.

_Blergh! Licked his fingers and everything. Sicko_.

That was a site to see. Emily shivered at the memory. She's eaten plenty of squirrels out here, sure, but never like that. Being the survival enthusiast her dad was, he taught her all sorts of things in case she ever got lost in the woods while they were hunting together. He taught her how to navigate, start a fire, build shelter, set traps and most importantly, how to properly field dress and cook game so you don't get sick and die. Although, Daryl removed the organs it could still be contaminated with bacteria or diseases. No thank you. She'll stick to a well-done squirrel steak. She knew he knew better, so why did he chance that? It just wasn't sane to her. Also, cutting the ears off the walkers and wearing them as a necklace didn't help convince her that he's firing on all four cylinders.

As soon as it was clear that Daryl could make it on his own this time, Emily began to make the climb herself. She stuffed the bolt in the back of her pants. Let's not fall on that, shall we? Daryl had his back to her and is too pre-occupied on making it to the top to notice her. He also seemed to be in deep conversation with himself again. She couldn't make out what he was saying, he was too far away. She honestly wished she could hear it if it was anything like the things he mumbled earlier. She chuckled to herself and checked behind her occasionally, making sure Daryl was still upright.

He is.

Almost there too and so is she. She isn't injured, so she's having an easier time making the climb and therefore gaining ground faster than he. Emily thought about what would have to happen once they reached the top. She'd have to follow him. He still isn't all there and he's without a horse; it would be a long walk, especially with all he's gone through.

Emily reached one arm up and placed it flat on the ground above her, pulled her body up a little more until the other arm could reach the flat surface above and then pulled the rest of herself onto solid ground. She laid on the ground catching her breath when she heard Daryl yell.

"Yeah, you'd better run!"

Confused she turned her head in his direction. He still had his back to her, screaming at the air. She merely shook her head.

_Oh boy_… This would be a long journey back.

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Emily made sure to stay a long way away, so Daryl couldn't hear nor see her. She tried to step when he stepped to mask the sound of her walking, but he stumbled a lot which made it difficult.

She isn't sure if she should think it odd, considering his state of mind at the moment, but he did a peculiar thing. He stopped walking, stood for a moment and then reached out his hand, as if to touch someone or something that isn't there. Then he asked.

"Who are you?" and "Is someone there?" Is he seeing things again? Or people? He certainly isn't talking to her. She knew he couldn't hear her, she stopped walking when he did. He didn't dwell on it too long and stumbled on dragging his crossbow behind him. Apparently, he didn't possess the strength to carry it. Emily hoped the group would be able to recognize him before they shot him. Daryl had blood on his mouth, chin, well… everywhere really and with his mumbling it made him look like a regular psychopath or walker. Take your pick.

Eventually, the tree line came to an end, also ending Emily's walk with Daryl. She had to stop here, the camp is right across the field. If Andrea is still on top of the RV keeping watch like she's been, she should see Daryl in a matter of minutes. Emily watched from the shade of the tree line, hoping to see someone come to Daryl's aid. While squinting to see the members of the camp, she felt relieved when she saw a few of them scrambling around and then running in his direction. There were four of them to be exact. That seemed to be a bit much, but hey, who was she to say?

As they approached, Emily could see who they were now: Rick, Shane, Glenn and T-Dog. She grew alarmed when Rick raised his gun and aimed it at Daryl's head, mistaking him for a walker. Luckily, he didn't shoot, he just stared at Daryl like he couldn't tell if it were him or not. Shane looked annoyed that it was just Daryl instead of something that he could bury his axe into.

Glenn bent over, hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath from the run they all made. "Is that Daryl?" He asked.

Daryl, pissed that Rick still had his gun pointed at him, grumbled. "That's the third time you've pointed that thing at my head. You gonna pull the trigger or what?"

Rick lowered his gun. For a moment, there was a brief feeling of relief shared among everyone, until a gunshot cracked the air and Daryl fell backwards, landing on his back, bleeding from his temple.

Emily's eyes went wide as saucers, her hand flew to cover her mouth as a loud, shocked gasp escaped from it. Did Andrea just _shoot_ him?!

Rick started screaming. "No! Noo! No!"

Emily unintentionally stumbled forward a little. She almost ran out to him to see if he was alive or not, but she stayed put. She couldn't believe Andrea shot him. Emily knew it was her, she always see's Andrea on top of that damn RV with a rifle in her lap.

_Ohhh she's going to kill her._

Fearful, Rick and Shane bent down next to Daryl, checking to see if he was alive.

_Oh please be okay. I didn't risk my ass for you today to see you get shot in the head by your own people!_ Emily thought.

Rick and Shane started to help get Daryl on his feet. "I was kidding," She heard Daryl mumble.

_Oh thank God. He's alive!_

Emily closed her eyes, putting her hand over her heart, relieved beyond compare. She sighed. Holy crap. Is he going to be okay though?

Does he have a concussion? _Of course,_ he had to have _another_ head injury, just what he needed. Daryl looked unconscious as Rick and Shane dragged him to camp. Great, this poor man is going to be able to _smell_ colors after all the blows to the head. When Emily opened her eyes, she could see Andrea and Dale running over in a panic.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! Is he dead?" Andrea cried.

"Unconscious, you just grazed him." Rick replied.

Yeah, how would you like a bullet to the head Andrea? She's lucky Emily didn't have a rifle of her own, otherwise Andrea might've gotten a taste of her own stupidity. As the grouped walked away Emily could no longer here their conversation, they became faint noises in the distance. She'd have to find a way to see how Daryl is doing later, she wasn't sure how though she'd never been that close to their camp before. Is it worth the risk? Probably not. Mabey, she shouldn't. Why does she even care this much anyway? Mabey because guns made her uneasy? Not uneasy to be around, just uneasy to use herself.

Her thoughts went back in time to when her father first taught her about them. Growing up hunting with your dad shouldn't make one afraid. Well, she isn't exactly afraid, she could use one if she needed to. She has before, just doesn't prefer it.

"_Guns are only as dangerous as the people who wield them," Her Father told her. "This is not a toy. Yes, guns can save your life, but always remember that it will end another's. That is why before you even think about picking one up, you better know three important things: First, know your target. Never squeeze that trigger without being 100% sure you can see what you're shooting at. Second, know _why_. If you intend to use that gun on another living thing, you better understand why you are choosing to potentially end its life and if it's morally sound. Lastly, shoot to kill. Don't allow it to suffer._

He then explained the third rule mostly applied to animals and that when it came to humans you'd have to decide for yourself what to do. He advised to leave the matter up to the Almighty, as it should be. He was a good man, her father.

Emily remembered looking at that gun in his hands and thinking that she never wanted the responsibilities that came with it. She didn't want that weight on her shoulders and if something were to go wrong, it would be all her fault. It's why she became so interested in knives. Knives are simpler than guns. Whenever the two of them went hunting together she opted for a bow. She could guide a bolt easier than a bullet. Same rules applied of course, but she liked that she had more control. Regardless, her dad still trained her how to use one, a time may come when a gun may be her only option and if so she better know what she is doing.

Too bad Andrea wasn't taught the same lessons Emily's dad did. She'd be more than happy to teach her. Dumb bitch. How could one be so careless? Andrea obviously didn't know who she was shooting at, so why would she pull the trigger?

Emily's thoughts were interrupted by a piercing scream from the woods behind her. Alarmed, her head jerked to the left.

_What in the…?_

She listened, eyes scanning the trees. The scream came again and Emily began to run in the direction from which it came. It sounded like a young girl.

_Sophia!_

Emily's heart began to race. It had to be her! The screams kept coming and Emily was thankful, she'd be able to find her and as long as Sophia kept screaming it meant she was still alive. Emily removed the bolt she stuck in her pants and ran as fast as she could. She had to stop for a few seconds every now and then to make sure she is going the right way. The screams were getting closer. Soon, Emily could see a little girl up ahead with red hair being chased by two walkers. Emily was closing the distance, but not fast enough much to her dismay. Sophia, panting and looking behind her to make sure the walkers weren't gaining on her, stumbled and fell to the ground with a _ooof!_ She tried to get back up and run away, but something was keeping her down and the walkers were almost to her.

_C'mon, get up and run! _Emily screamed at Sophia with her mind.

Sophia sobbed, kicking her feet and reached down at her shoes. Her shoe laces snagged a tree root and no matter how much Sophia pulled it wouldn't come free. So, she tried to slip her foot free from her shoe, but the laces were pulled tight, making the task more difficult. By then the walkers were right on top of her. Sophia managed to slip free of the shoe, she turned and got up to run, but a walker stumbled over the same tree root as Sophia and fell on top of her, knocking her back down.

_No! No! No!_ Emily ran hard, praying her legs would turn into wings. Her heart then shattered as she heard Sophia let out the most agonizing scream Emily has heard from her yet.

The walker's teeth sunk deep into the flesh of Sophia's left shoulder, causing blood to gush heavily from the wound. The second walker was hoping for a nice bit to take out of Sophia as well, it bent down to join its friend for dinner, but it never took a single bite. Emily had finally made it. She stabbed the one on top of Sophia with Daryl's bolt, it collapsed, leaving Sophia trapped underneath its dead weight and kicked the other one in the face preventing it to cause further harm to Sophia. The walkers face caved in slightly, but not enough to kill it. With a snarl, Emily finished it off by stabbing it through the eye. The walker laid next to its friend, dead.

Emily, panting harder than she has in a while, went to pull the dead walker off Sophia's whimpering form. As Sophia laid crying, Emily wanted to cry too. She gazed at Sophia's bitten shoulder, tears sprang to her eyes. She was too late. Maybe if she had run harder, maybe if she had left sooner… the bottom line is, she failed and this little girl is paying the price. Sophia looked at Emily through wide teary eyes, unsure if she should trust her or not. Emily caught the look and blinked her own tears away, Sophia still needs her help and Emily knew she needed to be strong for her.

Emily tried to smile. "I-it's okay," She said, still out of breath. "I'm not here to hurt you, I'm here to help. My name's Emily,"

Sophia didn't say anything, just went to touch her shoulder with her other arm, flinched and continued sobbing some more.

"Don't touch it, we need to bind it," Emily said. She began to tear the end of her flannel shirt to use as a bandage. "C'mere," She held out her hand for Sophia to take.

Sophia looked at Emily's hand, she seemed reluctant to take it, but eventually did. Emily lifted her body up as Sophia cried out a little from the pain, then she began to bind her wound.

"This is going to hurt a bit, but I need to wrap it as tightly as possible," Emily tied a knot and synched it tight on Sophia shoulder. Sophia yelled in protest. "Sorry,"

"I-it's okay," Sophia cried. "I-I'm b-bit, I'm gonna t-turn into them aren't I? I'm gonna die…" Sophia looked at the ground, tears falling from her face onto her pants.

Emily put a hand to the back of Sophia's head, comfortingly. "Don't think about that. Okay? I've got a place nearby, I'll take you there. You can rest and I can get you some pain killers. Sound good?"

Sophia looked up at Emily and slowly nodded her head. "M-my name is Sophia," She offered Emily a small smile.

Emily smiled back, sympathetically. "I know. I've been looking for you, for a while now,"

Sophia looked surprised. "Y-you have?"

Emily nodded. "Yeah, I uh… I was scavenging the cars on the highway when I saw your group. The herd came and you got lost, so I decided to help look for you,"

"You know my mom?" She asked excitedly.

"I… no, I don't know your mom _personally. _They don't know who I am and they don't know that I'm looking for you. I wasn't sure what they would do to me if I introduced myself," Emily looked up at the sky, the sun had set, there are faint colors of pink and orange in the sky. "C'mon, it's starting to get dark. Let's get that shoe back on. The house isn't far, but we can't stay out here any longer. The woods are dangerous at night."

Once Sophia got her shoe, Emily held out her hand for Sophia to take again. Sophia didn't have to second guess this time, she took it immediately. She was a bit slow to start out with and Emily knew she would only get slower, plus all that walking around would be painful.

"I can carry you…" Emily offered.

Sophia nodded her head, grateful. She felt so tired and achy. Emily slipped one arm behind the backs of Sophia's legs and the other under her good shoulder so Sophia could lift it with ease and hold on to her. Sophia grimaced a little when she settled into Emily's arms.

"Good?" Emily asked before continuing. Sophia nodded in agreement.

* * *

By the time the two made it to the house it was completely dark. Emily was relieved to see the big dark building immerge from the shadows. Considering they don't have a flashlight, she wouldn't have been able to navigate much longer in the dark. Plus, Sophia was feeling warm in her arms and her breathing is labored, she needed rest too.

Emily sat Sophia down, Sophia was a bit uneasy on her feet, so Emily made sure she was steady before she went to open the door.

The pair walked inside. Emily immediately went to the fire place, got down on her knees and pulled a floor board loose. She began pulling out a bag and unzipped it. She always stashed things in the floor boards if she could, she even stashed some food in a wall once and covered it with a painting. You had to get crafty these days. She had to get a fire going soon, luckily everything she needed is in that bag: Fire starter, food, water, meds and more. She had a flint to get the fire going, so off to work she went. While Emily was busy getting a fire going, Sophia looked around as best she could in the dark.

"How long have you been staying here?" Sophia asked.

Emily a got a spark and soon it caught on the piece of paper she had crumpled up in the logs. She bent down and gently blew on it, encouraging the flames to grow. "Only a few days. Your mom and the others have a camp set up at a farm about a mile and a half from here, I can get you there, but not the dark. Well, maybe, but it wouldn't be a good idea,"

The flame caught and started licking up the rest of the sticks she had gathered in there this morning.

Sophia looked to the floor sad. "Do you think I'll get to see her tomorrow before I… before I, you know…"

Emily turned to look at her small, afraid frame. She could see Sophia's eyes glistening in the orange glow from the fire and her heart sunk. No, she most likely wouldn't get to see her mom again before she turns, but Sophia didn't need to know that. Emily couldn't take away the last bit of hope that little girl has. "Don't worry about that. In the morning, first thing, I'm going to take you to your mom, okay? Just… focus on that, on seeing her tomorrow. Okay?" She would take Sophia to her mom right this instant, but there's no point in tripping over themselves in the dark and Sophia most likely wouldn't make it before it became too painful for her. Emily could tell that Sophia is already experiencing those symptoms.

Emily went to get Sophia a pillow and blanket that she had kept in a pantry in the kitchen and then motioned for her to lay down.

"C'mere and rest. How are you feeling?" Emily asked.

Sophia complied. She winced as she gently sat herself on the floor next to Emily. "I feel hot and not from the fire. Everything hurts when I move, like I'm just one big puffy bruise,"

Emily reached in her bag and pulled out the pain medication she had. She looked at the bottle labeled "Norco". Her father had undergone surgery before the world went to hell, he still had some of his medicine, so she took all she could. Under normal circumstances she'd never even think about giving these to a child, but these weren't normal circumstances, were they? Ibuprofen isn't exactly going to cut it either. She had no idea what the proper dosage would be for her. She then decided it didn't matter. Sophia wouldn't live long enough to develop an opioid addiction and besides would overdosing on some drug be the worst way to go considering the alternative?

Emily popped open the lid and handed Sophia the pill with a bottle of water. "Here take this, it'll help with the pain,"

Sophia took it and then looked up at Emily. "Is this Tylenol?" She asked.

Emily humorously smiled. "Yeah, sure,"

Sophia swallowed the pill and only took a couple sips of water before handing it back to Emily.

"No, drink it all, it's okay," Emily said. "You need it,"

"But what about you?" Sophia asked, genuinely concerned.

"I'll be fine. I can always get more," Emily said staring at the flames. She figured Sophia had until morning at best. What is she going to do afterwards? Come walking in to Rick's camp caring Carol's lifeless daughter in her arms? She didn't want to think about that yet. Sophia needed her now, but how could she help? There was nothing she could do now, besides try to ease her passing as best she could.

Emily glanced at Sophia as she was squirming uncomfortably. "You can lay against me if you want. It would be more comfortable than the wooden floor,"

Sophia smiled in gratitude.

The two of them shifted until Sophia sat between Emily's legs and leaned against her chest. They watched the flames dance for a long while until Sophia started asking questions about her. The typical stuff a kid would ask: Favorite color, food, animal etc. In return, Emily asked the same questions and the pair got to know each other quite well, even started laughing at some stories they were telling. They were like that for hours, Emily couldn't even remember the last time she laughed.

"Where did you live?" Sophia asked.

"Athens Georgia, actually," Emily had replied.

"I've been there before! Me and my parents were visiting family and we stopped at Athens along the way. I remember there being a big horse statue made of metal or something," She said excitedly.

"Iron. It was called the Iron Horse," Emily corrected, smiling.

"Oh," Sophia thoughtfully replied.

Despite Sophia's excitement with their conversation. Emily could tell that she's fading. Sophia had to pause a lot while talking to catch her breath and she's perspiring on her forehead.

"How's the pain?" Emily asked a little worried.

Sophia sighed. "Oh, much better. I don't feel any pain, I'm just really tired and still too warm."

Emily was relieved to hear that. But, Sophia continued.

"I'm just scared to close my eyes… cause… what if I don't wake up?" She finished.

Honestly, that's best-case scenario. Emily's breathing stilled and she closed her eyes. She rested her chin on top of Sophia's head and inhaled deeply burring the sobs that threatened to come out.

"Don't think about that. I'm right here, I'm not going to leave you." Emily whispered.

"Promise?" Sophia whispered back

"I promise," Emily said opening her eyes and searched for another question that she could use to distract Sophia's thoughts. "Hey, what grade were in you in?"

"6th, almost in 7th," Sophia replied, she made sure she put emphasis on the fact that she was _almost_ in 7th grade. "What did you do for a job?" She asked.

Emily laughed a little. Should she say? "Uh… I… served people drinks," She wasn't sure if she should say bartender or not and wasn't sure if Sophia would understand exactly. It felt weird telling a kid she served people alcohol. She did more than that though, broke up fights occasionally; she was tougher than most of the men who came by there and she had to watch out for her own ass a lot of the times. Drunk people got pretty handsy and don't always take no for an answer.

"Like a waitress?" Sophia asked.

"Yeah, of a sort," Emily answered amused.

Sophia began to wheeze, like she couldn't get breath and started to squirm nervously. Emily grasped her arms and shushed her.

"It's okay, Sophia breath with me, okay? Deep breaths in and out. In and out," Emily inhaled and exhaled accordingly and Sophia tried to follow suit. She's getting worse, it wouldn't be long now.

Sophia's breaths were stabilizing, but she still couldn't breathe well. "Emily? Will you promise me something else?" She wheezed.

Tears sprang to Emily's eyes. "Of course,"

"Will you promise to join our group?" She asked, so innocently. "You're good and kind… they would take you in. I know it. No one should be alone out here,"

_Oh Sophia. _She's the one laying in Emily arms dying and all Sophia can think about is Emily's well-being. Emily let the tears roll down her cheeks this time. This is all _her_ fault. "Yeah, I promise," Emily isn't completely sure if she could do that or not, but right now, she would promise Sophia the moon if that's what she wanted to hear.

"And will you tell my mom that I love her?" Sophia asked.

Emily replied in a trembling voice. "Yeah," That much she could do and she _would,_ even it's the last thing she did on this god forsaken earth. Emily sniffed. "Yeah, I promise."

"Good," Sophia exhaled, relieved.

Emily couldn't take it. She felt so guilty. She glanced at Sophia's bandaged shoulder and was filled with so much remorse. Emily was supposed to find her and take her to her mother, healthy. Not cold and dead.

"Sophia?" Emily asked, about to break down. "I'm so, _so_ sorry," She cried and shook a little. "This is my fault."

Sophia panted. "No, it's not. You found me. I could still be out there, alone. You did your best,"

Emily stopped crying and sniffed. "I did, but… my best wasn't enough,"

Soon Sophia's breathes became fewer and fewer, until it was hard to tell if she was breathing at all. Emily had to feel her pulse in her wrist to make sure.

"I'm scared," She said in a barely-there whisper.

Emily held her tighter. "Don't be scared. It's going to be fine, you won't feel anything. It'll be just like falling asleep."

"Emily?" Sophia asked, she sounded a bit dazed. "Will… you… sing to me? My mom… would sing… to me… whenever I felt scared,"

"I… I don't know too many lullabies, kiddo," Emily said, she's never sang to anybody before.

"It doesn't… have to be a… lullaby. Just any song," She sounded like she was about to fall asleep.

_Okay. _Emily tried to think of a song. She knew many, mostly old rock music that would play in the bar she worked at. AC/DC probably wasn't very fitting in a time like this, is it? Finally, she chose something her and her dad used to listen to together, he said he would sing it to her mom when they were dating. It's a pretty up beat song, but she knew a tamer version of it.

Emily began to sing softly. _"When I wake up, well I know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man who wakes up next to you. When I go out, well you know I'm gonna be I'm gonna be the man who goes along with you…"_

Sophia closed her eyes as she listened to Emily sing. It soothed her. Emily wasn't sure if Sophia was still listening as she sang, but it didn't matter, she'd sing until she finished the song. The tears never left Emily's eyes and her voice cracked every now and then.

"…_But I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more. Just to be the man who walks a thousand miles to fall down at your door…"_

Somewhere in the middle of the song Sophia did slip away. Peacefully, not scared and not alone thanks to the comfort Emily provided. Though she didn't realize just how much that meant to Sophia. Emily finished the song as dawn approached. The fire had died out and smoldered. She asked Sophia's name even though Emily knew she was gone (Sophia no longer felt hot in her arms, but cold) and no answer came. She checked her pulse for the last time and let the last bit of tears roll down her cheeks. There was no telling at what point Sophia slipped away, but Emily knew what needed to be done and it needed to be done soon. So, she gathered up Sophia in her arms, her limbs lifelessly dangling and started to slowly, sorrowfully walked out the front door.

The sun isn't out all the way yet, you could barely see the yellow light peeking through some of the trees. It's a chilly morning too. But Emily didn't notice the cold air biting her skin, the only cold she could feel is the cold body of a sweet little girl in her arms that she failed to protect. She couldn't just bring Sophia to the camp like this, she would turn soon and she couldn't think of anything worse than to bring Sophia back to the camp as a walker. The fact that she's dead is horrible enough. No. Emily will take care of it and then take Sophia to the camp. She sighed. This is would be the hardest part. What a site for them to see, a woman carrying the dead girl that they've been looking for, for days now. She's really about to destroy all their hopes. Maybe it would be best if she didn't bring Sophia to the camp and they just never found out what happened to her. That way maybe they could still hope for the best, having hope is an important thing these days. Sometimes it's the only thing you have. This would _crush_ them. Emily isn't sure she could do that.

Emily laid Sophia up against a tree, gently. She took Daryl's bolt, planning on doing it now. She moved Sophia's strawberry blonde hair away from her eyes and remembered the promise she made to her. She put a hand to her head, distressed about whether to take Sophia to camp or not, but she promised her that she would and that she would tell Carol Sophia loved her and...

_God. This is too much. _

Emily, hopeless herself, looked at Sophia's pale face. She was so sweet, innocent and good. She didn't deserve any of this. Emily nodded her head she knew what she needed to do now. She had to do right by her. Sophia wanted to be with her mom and that's where Emily would take her. She brought up the bolt to Sophia's temple and was about to finish it when she heard twigs snap to her left. She jerked her head in that direction, looking for whatever made that sound and soon she heard voices. It was Hershel and Jimmy, they're walking towards her, but they hadn't seen her yet. Emily ran out of the clearing and took cover from the trees behind. That wouldn't have looked good; a woman and a dead girl… Emily silently waited, with her back to the tree, for Hershel and Jimmy to pass on by. There was a growling sound coming from behind her and Emily knew it couldn't have been from Hershel or Jimmy. She turned around, poking her head out and saw Sophia stumbling around snarling. She turned. Emily sadly closed her eyes.

_Dammit. _

Hershel and Jimmy made it to the clearing, they saw Sophia and Emily figured they would kill her and either leave her or take her back to camp. But they didn't do either one.

"Jimmy, I'll distract her, you get a hold of her," Hershel said.

Emily curiously watched as Hershel whistled at Sophia, as if he were calling a horse. Once he got her to follow him, he started backing up. They both were carrying sticks that had a noose at the end. Jimmy took his, went behind Sophia and flung the noose around Sophia's neck. Sophia turned to snarl at him in protest, but he had control of her now.

_What the hell are they doing?! _Emily started getting anxious now. Were they not going to kill her? Are they going to walk her into camp like that? You've got to be kidding me!

"I've got her!" Jimmy yelled.

"Good," Hershel said. "Let's get her to the barn and keep out of site so Rick doesn't see."

They then began to lead Sophia away, using the tree line as cover. Emily, of course, followed. Completely baffled at what was happening. They were taking her to the barn? Why? Why haven't they killed her? Should she be stopping this?

They were walking at the edge of the tree line, just enough to use as cover and to see where they were going. The barn is just on the other side, they'd have to walk in a half circle to get to it. Sophia snapped and snarled the whole way, but it seemed like Jimmy had a good hold on her. Eventually they were facing the barn and Emily stayed in the tree line to observe while the walked Sophia up to the barn's back door. Hershel went to the door, looked back at Jimmy to make sure he was ready. Jimmy gave him a nod that said he was good to go. Hershel, with a grim face, went to open the door. As soon as he did, Jimmy stepped up with Sophia and a bunch of pale hands soon greeted her at the door.

Emily's eye went wide at the site. They're keeping walkers in the barn?! _What in actual hell!_

Hershel struggled to keep the door open just enough to let Sophia inside. "Hurry!" Hershel yelled over the groans and moans of the walkers.

Jimmy lifted his stick to get the noose off Sophia and shoved her in to the groping hands. He then went to help Hershel close the door, but walkers were piling up against it. With great effort, the two finally got the door shut and latched securely. They shared a look, heaving with exertion and then wandered off towards the house, like it was just a casual morning.

Emily stumbled back at a loss. Why…? How…? What exactly is the right question here? Obviously, Rick and Shane didn't know about this or the barn would've been burnt to the ground by now. Should she try and tell them somehow? The more walkers that got put in that rickety old barn the more likely they'll be able to bust out of it. Which would put everyone in danger and then there's the issue with Sophia… How could she get her out of there? She couldn't, not if she wanted to risk her life and the groups, because if something were to go wrong… that's on her. What did Hershel want them for anyway? What is he doing? She knew that Hershel didn't like killing them. So, he's stashing them in the barn? Who _does_ that?

Emily shook her head. The group could handle it if worst came to worst, they had enough fire power. But, if she's going to do something to help, she needed to be ready too and all she has is Daryl's bolt. That's not good enough. It's enough to keep her alive, but to take on that many she'd need something more.

Her stomach growled. She put a hand to her gut. _Ugh_ and something to eat. She's running low on food, Sophia took the last of it last night. She knew yesterday she would have to make a supply run and that need is even more pressing now.

Emily glanced at the bolt in her hands, thinking about its rightful owner and if he's okay. She looked towards the camp. No one is awake yet, except for Hershel and Jimmy of course. No one is up and walking around that she can see. There's not even anybody on top of the RV. Strange. They must be feeling comfortable around here, that's not good. She wanted to return the bolt to Daryl and see how he's doing. Daryl's tent is always the furthest away from everyone, making it the easiest to get to. She knew she could sneak her way into camp without anybody noticing her, but she couldn't tell who could see her from the house. As Emily stood there pondering what to do, Lori got out of her tent and walked to the house where she was greeted by… Mary? M-Ma… Maggie? Yeah, Maggie, that's right. Guess they're going to make breakfast or something for everyone, which means everyone else will be waking soon and if they're making breakfast they'll be distracted. Plus, the kitchen is on the wrong side of the house, they wouldn't be able to see her from there.

It could work. It's risky, but it could work.

_Gah! This is crazy!_

Emily started to pace, running her hand through her hair. It's not even that important! Why does she care about giving the bolt back to Daryl so much? It's like this bolt has an invisible string and it's just pulling her in his direction. What if they saw her? No, seriously what is the worst thing that could happen? They draw their guns on her? Shoot her? Hell, who even cared? She's not living for much anyway. No, that's not true, not anymore. She did have something to live for now. _Them_. She wanted to help keep them alive for some reason, that's her life's mission now. She had to live for them.

"_Will you promise to join our group?" _She heard Sophia's sweet, small voice say in her head.

_Dammit kid._ Emily didn't want to be a part of a group, she liked being be by herself. She liked this arrangement. She's responsible for herself and can lend a helping hand when needed. It's nice. Lonely, (although that doesn't bother her much) but nice. She didn't want to get too attached to these people, but perhaps she already is getting attached. For God's sake, she's about to do something stupid for a man she doesn't really know.

_Screw it. Let's do this._

It's now or never. Emily took off towards the camp, she didn't have much time before they woke. She didn't have much of a plan either. Just stay low and use as much cover as you can. Luckily, there's trees scattered about here and there, she could hop to them until she made it to Daryl's tent. Unfortunately, that's the long way around, it's a straight shot from the barn to the house, but there's nothing to give her cover. Once she got past the barn she made a beeline for the first tree and waited to see if anybody noticed her. She did the same thing for the next tree and the next. So far, so good. She didn't even hear anybody cough. Daryl's tent is only a few yards away, she planned to just sneak up to it, stick the bolt in the ground and run off to town. When she was ready to do just that, Shane walked out of his tent. Emily went back against the tree. _Shit._ She waited, it sounded like he was walking towards her_. Shit, shit, shit. _She quieted her breathing and waited for the worst, but the worst never came. Shane stopped walking just in front of the tree she's behind. She heard him unzip his pants and then a trickle of water. Which, obviously isn't water, he just got up to piss. Lucky her. Shane then cleared his throat of phlegm, _loudly_ and spit to the side.

_Ugh, gross._

Emily wrinkled her nose in disgust. When Shane finally relieved himself, he walked off. She then heard him ask Rick's name, Rick answered and invited him into his tent. That's when Emily looked to make sure the coast is clear once again. It was and the windows on Rick's tent are zipped up, this is her only and last chance. Watching where she stepped and watching the tents surrounding her, she ran for Daryl's tent. She slowed once she approached, she wanted to sneak a peek inside to see if he was there, but all his windows were zipped up too. Thankfully, she heard him snoring. _Snoring. _She smiled relieved, he's okay. Accomplishing her foolish mission, she stuck the bolt in the ground next to his tent and headed for the tree line to make it into town.

Emily smiled at the thought of Daryl's confusion when he would wake to his missing bolt in the ground that wasn't there when he went to sleep. He'd probably just blame it on his head injury, she guessed. Or maybe not. She liked that thought a lot better, perhaps she'd get to play more mind games with Daryl in the future. Oh, what fun that would be.

* * *

**Hehe, yes pestering Daryl would be fun :) **

**Sorry about Sophia guys! I had to. :.( I believe if Sophia had been kept alive it would've changed the whole dynamic of Carol's character and I want to keep Carol as her badass self. I don't think she would've if she still had her daughter. I love her transformation the most.  
**

**By the way, if you haven't listened to "I'm Gonna Be (500 miles)" by Sleeping At Last, you should as thats where I got my inspiration for that little scene from.**

**I'm hoping I can get Emily and Daryl's first meet, face to face in the next chapter. But if not, definitely in the 4th. I've got a lot planned for those two.  
**

**Don't forget to review! I both love and need your feedback. :)**


	3. Goodbye Stranger

Chapter 3 – Goodbye Stranger

**First of all I would like to say hi to all of the new people who have joined us! Hello! I'm so excited to have you guys! I thought I would tell you all what to expect with the new chapters to come. I'm planning on updating a new chapter every 2 weeks, hopefully I can get them out a little sooner than that, but life gets pretty hectic sometimes. I'm planning on making them longer as well from now on too because of that! **

**I also might have to end up changing the rating to M, I'm not sure yet though, it ****depends on how smutty I'm going to make this... Let me know what you guys think about that! Anyways, enjoy this long chapter!**

* * *

Daryl knew he was dreaming as he walked in the woods looking for Sophia. His first indication that it was a dream is due to the fact that he felt no pain, in fact, he felt nothing. Not cold, not warm, he felt no breeze, nor the feeling of his clothes rubbing his skin. He only felt the need to find the lost little girl he'd been looking for, for days. Daryl began calling her name, but heard nothing in return. Despite that, he walked on, continuing his search when he came across a running stream of water. The stream, he found out, is connected to the same pool of water he had fallen into when he fell off his horse. As he looked at the dirt where he had laid unconscious yesterday, he heard his name being called.

"_Daryl," _The voice whispered.

At first, the voice had been so faint he thought he imagined it. Then it came again, louder and urgent.

"_Daryl!" _

Daryl snapped his head up toward the top of the cliff he had climbed earlier, he turned around, searching for the owner of that voice. It was a woman's voice, he could tell. He might've thought the voice belonged to Sophia, as that was the only other girl out here, to his knowledge, that could've known his name, but the voice is too mature. It clearly belonged to a much older woman than Sophia.

"Hello?" He called.

"_Daryl," _The voice seemed to answer back. _"Are you with me?"_

"I ain't playin' no games," He said, his eyes still searching. "C'mon on out!"

When it seemed that, whoever this person is, isn't interested in listening to his commands Daryl turned back around to face the cliff side and nearly pissed himself when he was greeted by a woman standing right in front of his face. She had made no sound, just seemed to appear out of thin air. Daryl jumped and although he tried to step away, he couldn't.

_Stupid shit dream._

The meet and greet took no longer than a couple minutes. The woman looked concerned, stretched out her hand and cupped Daryl's right cheek.

"_Wake up," _She said in a gentle voice.

Her wish was his command, Daryl awoke from his sleep, startled and with a splitting headache.

Daryl grimaced. He laid in his cot, squinting at the ceiling of his tent. He paused and tried to recall his dream.

He didn't know this strange woman, never seen her before to the best of his memory. Come to think of it, now that he is trying to remember what she looked like, he couldn't. He was stunned by her appearance and in the split moment he had, he tried to get a good look at her, but now, her image is faint to him. He couldn't make out specific details of her face, it's as if his vision is clouded, her face a blur. He could remember that she was slightly shorter than he, she had light brown hair that was pulled out of her face, but other than that he was at a loss. Maybe he did know her. But the foreign feeling he felt in her presence said no, he didn't. However, when she touched his cheek, it did spark some familiarity. He searched his memory and couldn't think of a single circumstance where he might've run into somebody. Then his thoughts went to yesterday when he had his accident.

When he had finally come to, there were two walkers dead at his feet. Prior to passing out, he didn't recall any walkers being there let alone killing them. The bolt that had also pierced his side, was gone too and he didn't remember pulling it out. At the time, he had blamed it on his head injury and chalked it up to memory loss. He didn't have time to think of the "why's?" and "how's?" of the situation, all he knew was that he needed to get out and get to help before it got dark. But sitting here and thinking about it now, how did that happen? When he was hallucinating Merle, now that he thought of it, he vaguely remembered hallucinating a woman. She had touched his cheek just like the one from his dream had. That's why it seemed familiar, she was the same person he hallucinated. But why? Who the hell was this chick and why would he dream about her? There's no way she's real. If she is, why would she save him from walkers and leave? Hell, why would she save him at all? There's also the missing bolt to consider. Why would someone, pull the bolt from his side, just to steal it? Why not take the cross bow too? It just didn't add up. He must have misplaced the bolt is all. Yeah, it was just the blow to his head, he had somehow made up a girl that didn't exist. Weird shit, but that's all it is.

Daryl grabbed the bolt that he had lying next to his cot. He twirled it through his fingers thoughtfully. This is his last one. He would need to make a supply run to find some more eventually, he guessed he could whittle some in the meantime. He unzipped his window, letting the sunshine in. Out of boredom, he took the bolt and started poking holes through the netting. Hershel said he needed to rest, that it would take days for his head to heal, maybe even weeks. But he knew that Daryl wouldn't rest like he should for that long, so he begged Daryl for just one day at least. Daryl agreed, unhappily, but agreed.

This shit sucked.

Daryl heard someone approach his tent. He stopped poking holes in the screen of his window. It's Andrea.

"Hey," She said sitting down next to him and handing him a book. "This is not that great,"

Uninterested, Daryl flipped through the pages. "What no pictures?"

"I'm so sorry. I feel like shit," She said, referring to accidentally shooting him.

"Yeah, you and me both," Daryl said as he adjusted his pillows.

"I don't expect you to forgive me, but if there's anything I can do…"

"You were tryin' to protect the group. We're good." Daryl sincerely said. Andrea forced a smile, that didn't erase the fact that she could've killed him and almost did. She got up to leave when Daryl spoke. "But hey, you shoot me again? Best pray I'm dead."

With that Andrea turned to leave, but stumbled over something sticking out of the ground. She made a surprised yelp and found what had interfered. One of Daryl's bolts.

Andrea pulled it from the ground. "Is this any way to leave your arrows lying around? I could've broken it," She said, feeling a little irritated.

Daryl's brows moved together in confusion. "What are ya talkin' 'bout? My arrow's right here," He held it up for her to see.

In return, Andrea held up hers as if to say _uh this one, duh_. Daryl saw the bolt she held and sprang up to his feet in surprise. Andrea took a step towards him, he needs to take it slow. "Whoa, hey, aren't you supposed to be taking it easy?"

Daryl stepped forward and took the bolt from her, examining it. It had a bit of dirt clogging the tip, but it was his alright. "Where'd you get this?"

Andrea pointed at the ground. "It was right there, sticking in the ground. It's alright, you must've just forgotten about it with your head and all,"

Daryl looked at the ground and then at the arrow, still confused and a little worried. He hasn't had that bolt since he lost it in the woods. But, Andrea wouldn't believe that, she'd think he'd lost his mind.

"Yeah, thanks." He decided to say.

Andrea nodded and walked away.

He most certainly did _not_ put that bolt there, so someone had to. Daryl looked towards the tree line. Maybe the girl from his dreams… isn't a dream after all.

* * *

Emily had made the journey into town, with little to no problems. She scavenged the town with not much hope of finding anything and figured that this being the closest town to Hershel and his family that they would've mostly cleared it out by now. Fate proved her wrong when she found a machete buried underneath a pile clothes in a small boutique. Someone had meant to come back for that most likely, but luckily, she's familiar with the rules of finder's-keeper's. She continued looking around the town for things of value, the grocery store had been wiped cleaned as suspected, although she did find a can of tomato paste and a bag of dog food.

_Delicious._

She unenthusiastically heated the can and poured some dog food inside making for an interesting soup. Thank goodness the tomato paste coated the flavor of the dog food, barely, but enough that she could gag it down. The wine that she found in the back also helped. Food like that would make anyone want to drink, but that hadn't been the only reason she drank. Sophia has weighed heavily on her mind. At first Emily was angry, at herself, at the world and then as the alcohol worked its way through her system, that anger turned to anguish and she cried and drank more. She hadn't even noticed that she had gone through two whole bottles and was already working on a third before she realized she should stop and go home. When she stood up, her world spun out of control and she found herself on the ground immediately. Well, she wasn't going anywhere. She was too drunk to even stand, there was no way she could make it home in the daylight, let alone the dark that was beginning to fall. She'd have to spend the night.

So, she had. She clumsily made her way to the back where the coolers were, holding onto the shelves to keep her balance, sloppily made herself a place to sleep and made sure she was secure and safe before dozing off in a restless sleep.

She awoke to a horrid hangover, she slept some more and then finally got up at what she guessed was around noon. She made her way to the drug store, looking like one of the dead herself. Hopefully there was still something in there that could help. Emily groggily searched the shelves, not surprisingly, all the typical stuff was gone, ibuprofen and such. In the back, she finally found something of use, Naproxen 500mg.

_That'll do. _

She popped two pills and chased it down with some water she had gathered yesterday. She still felt like shit, but there were things that needed to be done today and her meds would kick in soon. She had plans to find a rendezvous spot for the group in case things go south at the farm; they would need a place to go to re-group. If she could find a place that worked, she planned to leave markers and hopefully find a way to get the group to follow them.

Emily spent the whole day out there. Finding a whole of nothing, everything that could've worked was heavily populated with walkers and she couldn't just clear them out by herself. She could take care of a lot of the dead on her own, but the amount she found out there… it would've been suicide. It seemed like every turn she made there were two dozen more in her path. If only she could cause a big enough distraction to lead them all away from the area, but it would take a lot and she had nothing, but a machete.

In current time, the sun is beginning to set, yet again. Emily began her walk back into town, she couldn't stay many nights in town for long, something is bound to go wrong, but what would one more night hurt? As Emily walked down the street, planning on heading back to the grocery store, she noticed that something was different. A red SUV, that wasn't there last night, is parked at the bar across the street. Someone is here, which meant she needed to get out of sight if they haven't spotted her already. Emily ducked behind a car to her left, looking for the owner or owners of the car. She contemplated using the building on the other side of the street for cover when another car pulled up next the red one. Two people got out of it: Rick and Glenn. Emily's mood eased when she saw them, but then a troubled thought came to mind. Perhaps they didn't know someone is already in there. In case they needed assistance, Emily ran behind the bar, planning on entering through the back.

Once inside, Emily crept her way through back of the bar. She could her Rick and Hershel yelling at each other. Maybe she thought of finding a rendezvous too late. She slowly walked up some wooden stairs leading to a door and unfortunately the steps were quite creaky. She flinched at the sound of the wood giving under her feet and stopped. Rick and Hershel's argument must have drowned out the noise, for they didn't seem to notice. Emily slowly turned the door knob to open the door ajar, just a little, so she could listen to what they're saying.

"…I chose not to believe that," Hershel said, he sounded very upset. "But when Shane shot Lou in the chest and she just kept coming, that's when I knew what an ass I'd been."

_What? Shane shot who? What the hell happened? _Emily became worried, damn, she'd only been gone a day and all kinds of shit was going down.

"That Annette had been dead long ago and I was feeding a rotten corpse, that's when I knew there was no hope." Hershel continued. "And when that little girl came out of the barn…"

_No._

Emily sank to the ground. They found out about the barn already? Great sadness overwhelmed her. She was the one who was supposed to take out Sophia, so they didn't have to. Emily's breathes became harsh, trying not to cry.

"The look on your face… I knew you knew it too. Right? There is no hope," Hershel went on talking about there being no hope anymore.

Emily listened to the conversation, crushed. Rick argued that nothing had really changed. Death still exists, just like it always has and that it doesn't matter how hopeless it seems to us, what matters is that we give others the hope to go on. That touched Emily. What a constructive point of view. As Emily's spirit began to rise, it quickly sank when she heard a new male voice she didn't recognize.

"Son of a Bitch. They're alive." She heard someone say. "I'm Dave, that scrawny looking douche bag over there is Tony." The man named Dave said.

"Eat me, Dave," Tony replied.

"Hey, maybe someday I will," Dave said. "We met on I-95 coming out of Philly. Damn shit show that was."

Glenn chuckled. "I'm Glenn, it's nice to meet some new people."

"Rick Grimes," Rick introduced.

_Oh my god…_ Emily rolled her eyes. _You unbelievably, naïve, dumbasses._

They have no idea who these people are or what they're capable of and they're just introducing themselves like they just met at a BBQ. Do they not understand what people are like these days? How sheltered have these people been? Sure, they seemed friendly enough, everyone does at first. Emily went to crouch at the door. Listening for anything that sounded fishy.

They were toasting their dead and then the man named Dave said something about taking something from a cop. Emily assumed it was a gun, what else would it be other than a weapon? The other man most likely had one too. They started talking about where they were from and where they were planning on going. Dave mentioned that Fort Benning is overrun by the dead, which squashed Rick's plans of going there. Then he finally asked what Emily knew he was planning on asking the whole time and that was if they had a camp with a group of people. At least Rick isn't stupid enough to tell them the truth. Dave didn't buy it though, based on the cleanliness and emptiness of their vehicles. He then proceeded to ask if the area is safe to stay and Glenn confirmed it is. It most definitely is _not_, given all the walkers she found outside of town. Dave pressed the subject of Rick having a settlement nearby again. Tony walked over to piss against the back wall without a care who watched and asked if they had any girls he could screw.

Their true colors are starting to show. _You wanna be-friend them now Rick?_

Dave apologized for his friend's crude behavior and continued to ask Rick if they could join their group and pull their "manpower" together as Dave put it. Rick shut him down and Emily pulled out her machete. Rick drew the line and they aren't going to like that. Dave kept pushing Rick and Rick kept shutting them down.

"This is bullshit!" Tony shouted. Rick asked him to calm down and Tony continued to get more offended. "Don't ever tell me to calm down! I'll shoot all three of you in the head and take your damn farm!"

_Oh yeah, here we go._

Emily stood up, ready to pounce when she heard the shuffling. Dave stopped things from turning into a fight and he said that they were all just friends having a drink. Rick told them to keep looking for a different place to stay. Dave laughed and there was a gunshot.

At first, Emily couldn't tell who had fired the first shot, she opened the door wider to make sure the three were okay when two more gunshots rang out and she saw Tony fall to the floor dead. Emily stepped back inside the door and closed the door back to a crack again, proud that Rick is capable of killing like that. Rick continued to put another bullet in Tony's head, making sure he couldn't literally come back to bite them on the ass.

"Holy shit," Glenn said, in shock of how quickly it all happened.

Rick asked if everyone is okay, they confirmed and Rick suggested they head back to the farm. Night had completely fallen now. On their way to the door, car lights shown through the windows signaling the arrival of more people.

_Dammit._

Emily ran down the stairs and out the back, she needed to know how many there are. She quietly opened the door to the outside, rounded the left corner and put her back to the wall, quietly shuffling down. When she reached the end of the wall, she slowly stuck her head out. She saw at least three of them, they began looking around in the various stores on the street. Finally, they went to check the bar. Emily backed away, trying to think of a plan. She noticed the dead were starting to come out of the trees, the gunshots must've drawn them out. Although this would be a good thing for her in a few days, it proved to be a problem at the present moment. Emily heard one of the three men shout.

"We don't want any trouble, we're just looking for our friends!"

Emily could hear Rick shouting things back, but is unable to make out what he is saying. In return, the other three men shouted back, trying to figure out if their friends were alive or not. Eventually, they learned their friends were dead and reasoning went flying out the window. They began to shoot at Rick, Hershel and Glenn inside the bar. When Emily stuck her head out a second time, she saw one of the shooters start to round the bar on the other side, probably trying to see if he could sneak in through the back and finish them.

_I don't think so._

Emily made her way back to the other end, hoping to meet the man who decided to get crafty. With her back still to the wall, Emily anxiously waited. She could hear the man approach closer and heard him stumble over some garbage bags with glass bottles inside.

_Wow, a real ninja this one._

Emily heard him turning the door knob, she planned to wait until he got inside to make her move, but she never got the chance thanks to a shot gun blast blowing out the door and making the man run away in fear. Out came Glenn, responsible for that blast.

_Alrighty, that one's officially yours Glenn._

As Emily began to make her back to the street, she noticed another man coming up from behind. He hadn't noticed her yet, for she used the tree growing in front of her as cover. The man had a gun and had his crosshairs set on Glenn. Out of immense fear for Glenn's life, Emily bolted for the man and just as he was about to pull the trigger, Emily tackled him to the ground. The gun discharged into the ground and fell out of the man's hand when he contacted the ground. Emily kicked the gun away, putting it out of both their grasps. They struggled for a bit and the man kicked Emily off him. He stood, threateningly walked towards her while Emily pushed herself back up and took a fighting stance. She kicked him in his left knee, the man cried out in pain, Emily went to punch him in the face. His head snapped to the right when Emily's fist connected with his jaw. When he looked back at her, Emily went for a full round house kick, knocking him completely to the ground. When the man got back up he took out a switch blade, smiling wickedly. He went to stab her in the stomach, Emily jumped back barely missing the steel, but the man relentlessly kept coming at her. She blocked him with her arm once, but as soon as they made contact, the man swept a leg under her feet, knocking Emily on her back with a grunt. The man saddled her, knife raised high with both hands and swung it down towards her chest, Emily grabbed his wrists, pushing up with all her strength, trying to prevent the knife from piercing her skin. She groaned loudly, the knife inched closer and closer, he's too strong for her. Emily squeezed her eyes shut and screamed, feeling her strength failing.

Just as the knife touched her skin, a gunshot blasted the man's skull, spraying blood on Emily's face as her eyes snapped open. He fell to the ground. Emily laid panting to see Rick standing over her lowering his gun. He offered a hand to help her up, she took it and stood.

Emily looked down at the body and then at Rick, feeling a bit apprehensive. After all, this is the first time they've met face to face.

"T-Thanks Rick," She said out of breath.

Ricks eye narrowed as he looked at her questioningly. "How do you my name?" He asked with caution.

Emily breathed. This isn't the time or place to make introductions. "Look, I'd love to sit and chit chat, but we don't have the time," Emily looked around them. "This town is filling with the dead and those ass holes are still lurking about," She panted and looked passed Rick. "Is Glenn okay?"

Rick, again, glared at her and tilted his head in question.

Emily sighed out of frustration, they didn't have time for this. "Yes, I know his name too Rick and I know Hershel's as well."

"What else do you know?" He asked aggressively.

Emily raised her eyebrow. "I _know_ that if you don't get out of this town _now_, you won't be getting out _at all_," She clarified dramatically.

"Rick!" Glenn yelled from behind.

Rick turned and ran towards Glenn and Hershel as Emily followed. When the two made it to the alley, Glenn turned toward Emily. "Hey, thanks for what you did, you saved my ass,"

Emily nodded. "Yeah, no problem," She said sincerely.

Hershel spoke from behind her. "So, you're not with them I take it?"

"No," Emily simply said. They all looked at her for a further explanation, but they aren't getting one. She looked away from their expectant faces and towards the end of the alley, changing the subject to the real problem. "There's at least two more, that I know of. If I were them, I'd be waiting for you guys to make a b-line for your cars to take you out,"

Rick nodded. "Yeah, but we gotta try. If we wait, the dead will have us surrounded,"

"I agree," Emily said.

Rick stepped towards her, giving her a fierce look. "I don't know you. You may have saved Glenn, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to take you back with us,"

"I never asked," Emily simply said, shrugging her shoulders. "I saved Glenn and you saved me. We're square Rick, you don't owe me anything, it's okay. I just want to make sure you guys get out safe,"

What she said left Rick torn. It's true she never asked to go with them and she seemed perfectly fine with them leaving her behind. She seemed to be very reasonable and understanding of Rick's hesitation, but the fact that she knew their names disturbed him.

Glenn didn't like the thought of leaving her behind. "We can't just leave her here!" He exclaimed, shocked that Rick wouldn't take her. "She saved my life and she's helping us escape, she-"

"Glenn," Emily interrupted. "It's okay, I get it, I'm not offended. I'll be fine, but you need to listen to Rick,"

They both looked at her, surprised by how little she seemed to care about being left behind and how much she supported Rick's decision. She genuinely just wanted to help them.

"Okay, let's go," Emily said, getting impatient and gesturing for them to move it. "The nights not getting any younger people,"

Rick took the lead, becoming a bit rattle with her agreeability. The rest of them followed, but as soon as they rounded the corner a rifle fired at them.

"Get back!" Rick yelled.

The four fell back to cover. Someone is shooting at them from the rooftop across the street. Rick and Glenn dove behind the dumpster. Hershel and Emily put their backs to the wall. A truck drove up and stopped, they heard someone shouting at the marksman.

"Let's get out of here! Roamers are all over the place! Hurry up! We gotta get out of here!"

"What about Sean?" The sniper replied.

"They shot him!"

The men in the truck encouraged their friend to jump from the roof and they were not patient about it. Afraid, the man leaped from the roof hoping to hit the other roof (that's slanted) to slid down. But he missed and landed on a spiked fence. He screamed as a spike went through his leg. His friends, seeing that their friend is injured and unable to move, drove off and left him. The man screamed at them not to leave him, but it didn't matter. He cried for help. Rick ran for the screaming, injured man and Emily followed while Glenn yelled at Hershel to come too. Hershel is busy looking at a couple walkers nearby that started to feed off the corpse of the man who tried to kill Glenn and Emily.

When Rick and Emily made it to the injured man… well more like kid, he was maybe 16 or so Emily guessed. He laid crying in agony. Emily shook her head at the sight, he would have to lose his leg or be left behind.

"Rick!" Hershel yelled approaching. "We have to go now."

The injured kid yelled in protest. Emily nervously looked around, walkers are roaming the streets by the dozens.

"He's right Rick you don't have time for this," Emily pleaded.

Hershel put a hand on the kid's leg. "I'm sorry son, but we have to go,"

The kid screamed and begged for them to stay.

Rick angrily protested. "We can't!"

Glenn interjected, just as angry. "He was just shooting at us! You'll take this piece of shit, but you won't take her?!"

"He's a kid!" Rick yelled.

"This place is crawling with walkers, Rick! We need to go!" Emily said. "Either chop his leg off or put a bullet in his head!"

Rick turned to Glenn. "That hatchet still in the car?"

That freaked out the kid right quick, he began begging them not to cut his leg off.

Rick took out his knife. "Will this cut through the bone?" He asked Hershel.

Hershel explained what he'd have to do and that they'd need to find something to cauterize the wound afterwards. Rick went to help hold the man down and tried to get him to stop his screaming. Hershel took his shirt off to create a make shift tourniquet for the man's leg. Glenn started shooting at the walkers coming out of the woods with his shot gun and yelled at them to hurry up. Walkers started coming from behind the kid as well, Emily ran to take them out with her machete. Rick went to help Emily fight them with his revolver, more and more were coming and he knew they couldn't get them all. He told Hershel to hurry.

"C'mon we gotta go!" Glenn screamed.

"I'm almost out of ammo!" Rick yelled.

The situation grew more tense by the second. Everyone was getting nervous. Emily grunted as she withdrew her machete from a walker's skull, her clothes and skin were heavy of blood.

"Hershel, do it now!" Rick screamed.

"There's no time!" Hershel screamed back.

Rick went over to him, looking down at the kid's leg and contemplating what to do. The kid begged again to please not leave him. So, Rick threw a hail Mary by grabbing the kid's leg and jerking it up as hard as he could to free his leg from the spike. The leg gave free with a gush of blood and blood curdling scream from the owner. Emily stared wide eyed, she didn't think that would've work considering the width of the tip of the stake. She cringed at how horrible that must've felt.

Rick started gathering the kid up to carry him to the car. Hershel and Glenn were already making their way to the vehicles as well.

The walkers were advancing towards Emily, she killed a couple more before turning back to Rick panting. "Go! I'll hold them off,"

Rick stopped and turned to her. He doesn't even know her name and yet she's willing to risk her life for them. Glenn is right and Rick could see that now. He couldn't leave her, not after all she's done to help them tonight.

"Come with us!" He yelled.

Emily just looked at him mildly surprised, but she didn't intend on going with them, even with Rick's blessing. But seeing how adamant Rick is on not leaving without _this_ guy, she might have to drag him to the car herself. Emily shook her head, declining Ricks invitation.

"There's too many of them! You won't make it!" Rick argued as he threw the kids arm over his shoulders, supporting his weight.

Emily killed one more walker that got a little too close when she wasn't paying attention. "Yes, I will! Rick! Go! I'll be fine!"

Rick's eyes were wild with confliction and anger, but seeing that Emily is intent on staying and couldn't waste any more time, he swore and dragged the kid with.

"Rick!" Emily yelled. Rick stopped and turned. "You come back looking for me, I'll kill you!" Emily winked, she wasn't too serious, but it would piss her off. She'd probably at least punch him for taking the risk. "Don't risk it!" She turned back to the dead that were still coming, with no sign of stopping. She heard car doors slam and finally tires peeling away. She turned to watch them go, relieved. She was exhausted, her arm is getting tired of swinging and hacking away, she knew she couldn't go on like this.

Emily ran for the grocery store, quickly grabbing a few provisions that she had and ran out the back. The dead were behind the grocery store too, they saw her, snarled and stumbled their way towards her. Emily looked to a ladder on her right side. She grabbed the metal bars and climbed. Looks like it's roof camping for the night. Hopefully, most of them would wander off by morning. After walking the edges of the roof (it isn't a very big store) seeing that she's completely surrounded, she sat down and really wished she had her sleeping bag that she stashed at the house in the woods. It isn't very cold out though, she wouldn't freeze to death thanks to the ending summer's heat that lingered. Despite it all, Emily smiled. Rick, Hershel and Glenn made it out safe and she got her wish from earlier. The walkers got drawn out from the woods, which meant she'd have an easier time scouting tomorrow. Overall, it had been a pretty good day.

* * *

Emily had made her way down the roof in the late morning. It got pretty chilly this morning and she was thankful for the sun coming out. The dead were still in town, but not nearly as many as last night. They could be easily avoided if she made no noise. After spending all day searching, she successfully found a spot along the main highway that she thought would make an excellent place to gather the group if things went to shit. There weren't any walkers around, probably thanks to the gun show a few miles away.

A rendezvous spot wasn't the only thing she found. She scavenged the cars on the road and found a couple small cans of refried beans. She also managed to break into a truck with a tool box on the bed and found a quiver of arrows, but interestingly, no bow. Oh well, Daryl could at least use those, so she took them. Nightfall came around, so she was forced to sleep in one of the abandoned vehicles. Next morning, Emily took some shirts from one of the cars. She used a bright red one and cut it into thin strips to mark the trees leading to the farm. She made sure they weren't noticeable from the road, in case anybody drove by and saw them. She marked the trees about every quarter mile until she got close enough to the farm. Emily also marked a different trail that would lead to the same place in case one trail no longer became accessible.

Once she finished, she went back to the house in the woods to gather the rest of her things and to check her traps. She managed to snare a couple rabbits, not too shabby. She skinned them and let them slowly cook over a fire, intending on turning them into jerky. Though the rabbits are small, they'd last her a bit longer than normal as jerky, they would get her through a couple more days. Plus, Emily planned to spend tomorrow in the barn to see what the group decided to do with the kid, a fire wouldn't work.

Rick took that kid back to the farm, which meant they should be trying to get some answers from him about the people he was with and more. She doubted anyone could find the farm though, it's tucked pretty far off the road. But, Emily is more worried about him making a great escape and hurting people. She doubted Rick could kill him, not a kid, especially being a father himself. Shane could though, she knew that much. Shane is much colder than Rick and considering the circumstances surrounding him and Lori, Emily was convinced that Shane could kill Rick too.

Emily sighed. Rick gave her his blessing to enter the group. He was ready to bring her back after all she did for them in town, but she wasn't ready for that yet. Besides, she is pretty sure Rick would lose all of his trust in her if she just came waltzing out of know where intending on signing herself up for laundry duty. How could she explain that she knew where the farm had been the whole time? That she has been watching them for weeks? She knew how creepy it sounded even though she had good intentions, she isn't sure Rick would see that. All he'd see is a stalker in the woods, watching and waiting and she wouldn't blame him.

The rabbit meat got done just around dinner time. She ate, satisfied. Rabbit jerky tasted a lot better than that dog food tomato soup. _Ugh_, her stomach turned just thinking about it. She laid next to the fire, thankful for the heat and her sleeping bag. The last couple of nights were not as luxurious.

In the morning, Emily grabbed a few necessities she'd need and headed for the barn. She took the route she followed Hershel and Jimmy on while they lead Sophia away. Hopefully they took the dead out of there so she wouldn't have to see Sophia's rotting corpse. She couldn't handle that.

When Emily made it to the barn. It had been completely emptied of walkers.

_Thank goodness._

She took residence up in the loft, behind some hay bales to conceal herself. The rest of the day consisted of listening to Daryl, beat the kid, whose name is Randall she found out. T-Dog mostly took watch, as well as Andrea, to make sure Randall didn't escape the little storage building they had him tied up in. It sounded like they planned on killing him, not a bad move. The only thing it would hurt is every ones morale and that's something Dale couldn't understand. He spent the day trying to get people to convince Rick to spare Randall his life. She didn't blame Dale, he only meant good and Emily thought that having a mentality like his is a rare gem to find these days. It touched her to see how important it is to Dale that everyone keep their humanity. What a guy. The screwed-up part is, is that's how you get killed in times like these.

Emily also took notice that Daryl no longer camped with everyone else. He had moved his tent closer to the tree line. She wondered if it's because he felt guilty about not finding Sophia, she knew how much he cared about finding her and how hard he tried. His guilt only made her feel even more guilt herself.

Carl had snuck into the building that they were holding Randall. Shane had just been in there, but when he came out, Carl was still inside and Emily almost ran down there to make sure he was okay. However, Shane went back to investigate some noises and ended up finding Carl. Shane scolded him and told him to never do it again.

Emily soon had to tuck tail and hide in the hay while Lori and Rick conversed up in the loft. They talked about killing Randall and if Lori agreed with the decision. She said that she supported any decision Rick thought is best. Once they left, Emily overheard Carl being a little shit to Carol and called her an idiot for believing in heaven.

_Oh… _she wanted to whoop that kid's ass!

_Strike two kiddo, strike three and I'm beating you myself._

Rick went to take care of it, but Emily noticed he didn't return with Carl. Well, apparently, Rick isn't worried about Carl doing something stupid. Except, stupid seems to be the only thing on this kid's agenda today. After a while he still hadn't showed up and nobody seemed to notice either.

_Jesus… it's a wonder he's survived this long! Doesn't anybody watch him?_

She saw what direction he went in and knew that Daryl is also that way. Emily hadn't seen much of Daryl today, only when he came out with bloodied knuckles and a grim expression from beating Randall. She wouldn't mind heading that way, just to see how he's getting along and to see if Carl is okay too. Emily looked outside to the building Randall is in. Andrea is there keeping watch, not that it made Emily feel any better, she's seen how Andrea handles herself with a gun. She'd probably end up shooting T-Dog by accident.

Emily left the barn, a little annoyed that she had to play babysitter, but the chance at seeing Daryl again seemed worth it. After making her semi-circle once again, she saw that small chimney structure with Daryl's tent next to it. He had some squirrels hung up on a string. Emily prayed that he would take the time to cook them this time around. She looked around and didn't see either Carl or Daryl, hoping they were together, she ventured into the woods.

It wasn't long before she stumbled upon Carl. Only Carl. He stood in front of her a few yards away, in between them both is a walker stuck in the mud. It stood, facing Carl, growling and reaching for him. Emily knelt down and watched from the shrubs, dumbfounded at Carl's antics. The little shit is throwing freaking rocks at it! Rocks! Like it was some carnival game to him.

_What in the hell am I witnessing right now? _Emily thought, staring at Carl like she literally could _not_ believe what she's seeing.

Carl stopped throwing rocks and just looked at the walker. Watching how it craved his flesh, just staring, curiously.

_Oookaaay… Daryl, where you? Put an end to this nonsense, please._

Carl walked around the walker, the walker tried to turn around too, but is unable due to its sunken feet in the mud, still it tried. This is when Carl, much to Emily's amazement took out a gun.

_Where'd he get that?! Tell me someone didn't give it to him! Oh… I see what this is._

Emily's face showed understanding, little Carl is trying to prove his manhood, he wants to prove to his dad that he's grown and can be treated like an adult. She shook her head. She could see the gun shaking in Carl's hand, he's scared.

_Well, go on then little _man_, pull the trigger! Don't chicken out on me now, kid. You came all the way out here for this. You wanna be a big boy, follow through!_

He can't do it and Emily knew it. Carl's trying too hard to be something more than he is at the moment. When he gets older, sure, but right now he doesn't have the guts. Emily found it a little amusing, he's standing too close to the thing. It's a gun Carl, not a knife.. It's okay, she'd be right here in case— Well _shit_.

One of the walker's legs popped free and grabbed Carl's hands. Carl screamed and both he and the walker fell to the ground. Carl lost his gun in the mess of leaves during the process. The walker's other leg is still sunken into the mud, so it has no ability to crawl to Carl, but it could still reach his legs. The walker grabbed onto Carl's feet, all the while Carl screamed in protest.

Emily would _not_ let another kid die on her watch, not again. She ran for him desperately. She arrived to his aide in a matter of seconds, she wasn't watching too far off. She ran and slid next to Carl like a baseball player sliding to first base; on her side with one leg extended. Emily kicked the walkers hands off Carl's legs and wrapped her arm underneath Carl's arms, dragging him slowly backwards with her. Carl pushed with his legs too trying to get away from the walker, the two grunted as they kept sliding backwards on the ground until Emily felt confident the walker could no longer reach Carl even if the other leg came free. Emily stood, took out her machete and sliced through the middle of the walker's head, splitting it cleanly. Breathing hard, she looked down at Carl, who is still on the ground, out of breath too. He stared in shock at the dead walker and at his savior.

Emily quickly knelt down to him, taking him by both arms and stared at him intensely. "Are you hurt? Are you bit?"

Carl quickly shook his head no.

Emily checked him just to be sure and was relieved to find nothing, not even a scratch. Emily closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. When she opened them, she got pissed. "Next time you wanna pull a little stunt like this, do us both a favor and do it with your dad around. Okay?"

Carl nodded. Emily sighed and put a hand on top of his head. "You're going to be the death of me, aren't you Carl?"

"Y-you know my name?" He asked.

Emily's starting to get annoyed with that question. "Yep,"

"How?" Carl asked, amazed.

Emily stood to pick up the gun Carl dropped. "Cause I'm Santa Claus," She said observing the pistol, laughing to herself, the little dumbass didn't even have a round chambered.

Carl looked at her like she's stupid. "You're a girl, you can't be Santa Claus. He's not even real,"

Emily looked at him, completely serious. "Santa Claus is _totally_ real and if you don't believe that, you're an _idiot_," Emily mused, lightly smiling as she used his own words against him. Carl said something almost identical to Carol about believing in heaven.

Carl's mouth dropped at what she said, catching the fact that she was mocking him.

"Sound familiar?" She asked, sarcastically.

"How'd you know what I said?"

Emily smiled and helped him up. "Enough questions," She handed him the gun, handle first. "Take this, run your sorry little ass back to the farm and give this back to whomever you stole it from. Got it?" She lifted her eyebrows at him, daring him to say otherwise.

Carl nodded, amazed at how she knew so much and took the gun, stuffing it in the waistband of his pants.

"I better not see you out here again without an escort and it would be great if you didn't tell your dad about me," She said.

"You want me to lie to my dad?" Carl asked.

"I'm not asking you to lie. I'm asking you to not say anything."

Carl considered that for a moment. "What are you doing out here? Why haven't you—"

"Carl, I said no more questions, now go." Emily pointed in the direction of the farm. "If you go anywhere other than the farm, I'll know about it and you'll wake up to what's left of that things head in your sleeping bag."

Without another word, Carl took off running. Emily huffed a laughed as she watched him go, shaking her head. Kid's running like his pants caught fire.

* * *

Carl ran back as fast as his little legs could go, he didn't want a walker's head in his sleeping bag. The girl in the forest must be a witch or something, she knew things that she couldn't have. He ran out of energy a few yards from the house, he slowed his pace and went to a walk. His mom called him into the house with everyone else and told him to stay with Jimmy. But, Carl protested, he wanted to listen in, there's no reason why he can't. He had every right to be there, just like everyone else, but when he tried to stay, his dad gave him a stern look that said, 'go or else'. Carl knew better than to mess with that look, so he went up the stairs, mad at the world.

The next morning, everything was as it should be. The group had breakfast and Dale had convinced everyone but Shane to let Randall go. They talked about where they should do it, far from the farm and they also talked about moving into the house with Hershel for the winter. Rick wanted to make sure the farm is secure before they decide to move and gave everybody a job to do. Except, Carl, he had too much time to think and he still needed to give the gun back to Daryl that he stole, but he became too afraid. So, he went to Shane and told him what happened, leaving Emily out of the story like she wanted.

Shane, rightfully took the story to Rick and Rick went to have a talk with Carl about what he'd done. The two sat up in the hay loft, looking out a large window overlooking the forest. They had a heart to heart, Rick said that he would try to treat Carl as more of an adult, but Carl had to act like one and put childish things behind him. When his dad finished, Carl felt more confident about himself, but also to tell his dad the whole truth about what happened in the forest. He felt like his dad should know.

"Dad?" Carl asked.

Rick looked at him expectantly.

"There's something else you should know," He said, looking down at the gun his dad handed him.

"What's that?" Rick asked.

"I didn't escape the walker all by myself, someone else was out there. A woman. She… she saved me,"

Rick tilted his head. A woman? Could it be the same one that helped him save Randall and get out of town alive? Rick grew tense and looked at Carl with a stern face. "And you're just now telling me this? What did she look like?"

"She… was tall, thin, long brown hair in a ponytail… she had a machete," He said, trying to recall certain details.

Rick got up quickly. That was definitely her! She's still alive! He couldn't believe it.

"Dad? Where are you going?" Carl asked and followed after him.

Rick had to find her, she helped them in town and now she saved his son. Once Rick left the barn he saw Daryl and T-Dog getting the truck ready to drop off Randall.

"I'll go get the package," T-Dog said and ran off to get Randall.

Rick walked up to them. "Change of plans. You two take Randall and drop him off where we discussed. Somethings come up,"

Daryl looked at Rick confused. "What thing?" He asked. What could possibly be more important than this?

"That woman that I told you guys about, that helped Glenn, Hershel and I get out of town? She's out in the woods somewhere, Carl saw her. She saved him, I gotta go find her," Rick said.

Rick's words left Daryl speechless. When Rick got back yesterday and explained to everyone what had happened in town. The mention of the mysterious girl who showed up out of nowhere, downright spooked him. His heart hammered just as it did now and he dared to think she was real. But he didn't say anything about it. Rick said she was most likely dead with all the walkers that were in town, so he'd have no way of knowing, until now.

Rick noticed how Daryl's face went from serious to concerned. "What is it?" He asked the archer.

Daryl looked to the ground. "When I fell off my horse in the woods. I don't think I got out by myself, I was pretty sure I saw someone, a woman," Rick listened intently as Daryl continued. "But I couldn't remember for sure, I thought my head was playin' tricks. But what you said the other night about bein' saved by a girl… and now this… I think she was real,"

Rick stepped closer, his face grim. "Why didn't you say anything about this?"

"Because I hallucinated Merle out there! I thought my head was broke! I thought I made her up too, it made no damn sense!" Daryl yelled, frustrated.

T-Dog came running up in a panic. "He's gone!" He said out of breath.

Everyone's hearts fell out of their asses. Rick looked at T-Dog like he had to be lying. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"I mean gone! He's not in there, he's gone!" He said doubled over catching his breath.

Daryl and Rick looked at one another in panic and ran to the building Randall escaped from, everyone else in the group were already there to see for themselves.

"How the hell did he get out?" Rick shouted in anger. "The cuffs are still hooked he must've slipped them,"

"Is that possible?" Carol asked.

Andrea walked out of the building. "It is if you've got nothing to lose," She said.

"The door was secure from the outside," Hershel said.

Daryl thought for a moment, he couldn't have gotten out without help then. "You think _she_ did it?" Daryl asked.

Rick narrowed his eyes at Daryl. "She wouldn't do that,"

"How do you know?" Daryl challenged, walking up to Rick. "Pretty interestin' how this all came together. This mysterious girl came back and now our prisoner is missin'! You know nothin' 'bout her! Do you even know her name?"

"I know she saved you, Glenn and now my son! There's no way!" Rick yelled back. "Why would she-?"

"To mess with our heads that's why!" Daryl said, beginning to pace now. "Why hasn't she come out then huh? She's just been waitin' for the perfect opportunity to pull somethin',"

"Who are you guys talking about?" Dale asked.

Glenn knew, eyes glancing from Rick to Daryl. "The girl from town is back?"

"Yeah," Daryl said. "And she's got our prisoner,"

Rick put up a hand and lowered it, signaling Daryl to calm down. "We don't know that for sure,"

"I do, who else could it be?" Daryl said.

"Rick! Rick!" Shane shouted, emerging from the trees, blood flowed heavily from his mouth down to his chin.

The group to look at the gruesome sight.

Lori ran forward toward Shane. "What happened?"

"He's armed! He's got my gun!" Shane yelled walking towards them.

"Are you okay?" Carl asked.

"I'm fine, little bastard just snuck up on me. He clocked me in the face!"

Rick turned to the group. "Alright, Hershel, T-Dog, get everybody back in the house. Glenn, Daryl, come with us!"

"Did you see a girl out there?" Daryl asked Shane.

"What? No, all I saw was red, man," Shane said. "T, I'm gonna need that gun,"

"Just let him go," Carol said nervously. "That was the plan wasn't it, to just let him go?"

"The plan was to cut him loose far away from here, not on our front steps with a gun." Rick said, pissed off.

Rick, Shane, Daryl and Glenn took off into the woods while Carol called after them. "Don't go out there! You don't know what can happen!"

"Get everybody back in the house. Lock all the doors and stay put!" Rick yelled one last time.

Everybody rushed to do as he said.

Shane told Rick where he saw Randall run off to before he blacked out. Rick asked Daryl if he could track him.

"No, I don't see nothin'," Daryl said, looking around with his crossbow in hand.

"Hey, look, there ain't no use in tracking him, okay? He went that way, we just need to split up, we spread out, we just chase him down. That's it." Shane said.

Daryl wasn't buying his bullshit. "Kid weighs a buck-twenty-five soakin' wet. You tryin' to tell us he got the jump on you?"

Shane was getting more agitated by the second. "I say a rock pretty much evens those odds, wouldn't you?"

"Alright, knock it off. You and Glenn start heading up the right flank. Me and Shane will take the left," Rick said. "Remember, Randall's not the only threat out there."

"Yeah you got that right," Daryl said, he was referencing the girl, but Rick had meant the walkers.

Once they split up, Daryl took Glenn aside when they were out of earshot of Rick. "I think I know where he might've gone, especially if he's with that girl,"

Glenn stared at him. "You wanna go a different way?"

Daryl nodded. "I saw a house, not too far from here when I was out lookin' for Sophia. It looked like someone had been stayin' there, I thought it was Sophia at first, but now I don't think it was,"

Glenn wasn't too sure about this idea. "I don't know Rick told us to stay right,"

"It won't take us long," Daryl argued.

Still not liking it. Glenn shook his head, but agreed to go with Daryl. Daryl nodded and they took off.

Daryl is certain he'd find Randall with that girl, they had to be tag teaming it together. It's the only thing that made any sense. Daryl felt a bit of adrenaline pump through his veins, he might actually get to meet the mysterious girl from his dreams, the thought terrified him. What was he supposed to do? Thank her for saving his life and then shoot her in the face? He didn't know. He didn't know what to expect. All he knew is that he's running toward answers to a riddle he has been wrestling with in his mind for days. Daryl had no idea what would come of this meeting, nor the events that would follow, forever changing his life.

* * *

**Yeep! ^^ So excited for these two to meet!**

**Yes, Dale lives to see another day! I thought it was dumb that they killed him off before the raid at the farm, like why was that necessary? Poor Dale... **

**Also, Emily calling Carl an idiot (like he did to Carol) for not believing in Santa Claus made my night haha! That stinker.**

**Please leave a review! Thanks for reading!**


	4. Manic Monday

**Chapter 4 – Manic Monday**

**Hello everyone! Welcome all you new people, we're excited to have you! It's been awhile and I apologize. These past few weeks have very busy, retreats one weekend, anniversary get away with the husband the next and Halloween parties after that. I'm pooped. I hope everyone had fun and safe Halloween! Here is a very late chapter 4, enjoy.**

* * *

_Holy shit! Holy freaking shit!_ Emily thought as she ran as fast as she could through the woods toward the house. That is not how she expected the day to play out.

She had spent most of the day resetting her traps, gathering and boiling water from the stream nearby. She was in the middle of following a rabbit trail when she accidently stumbled upon Shane. He hadn't seen her, he was too preoccupied with Randall who accompanied him, bound and blindfolded. Surprised and alarmed, Emily hid behind the trees to watch. She had no idea what would possess Shane to cut Randall loose like this, on his own no less. Rick was nowhere to be seen, so Shane obviously was doing this behind his back. There's no way Rick would allow something like this without his supervision.

Emily had watched as Shane began taking Randall's blindfold off and began conversing with him. It sounded like Shane was letting Randall go with the hopes of Randall leading him to the group Randall was with. At first, Emily thought that it was just a technique that Shane was using to get Randall to confess where his group was. But as time went on, it became clear that it wasn't a technique at all. Randall, ignorantly falling for Shane's story, got excited and started rambling about how well Shane would fit into his group. Emily had no doubt about that. The pair walked on through the woods while Randall kept rambling on about his group. As Emily followed them she could tell that something was wrong with Shane. He wasn't acting himself, he seemed agitated and on edge. Obviously, he didn't want anybody finding out about this, so he was always on guard searching everywhere, making sure no one was following them. But it was his eyes that had made Emily worried at the time, Shane looked like he was disorientated or something. Like he was beginning to detach himself emotionally from the situation and Emily found out why. When Shane turned his attention back to Randall, he grabbed him by his face from behind and snapped his neck like a twig. Randall had, but a brief moment to let out a half scream before choking on it.

Emily's jaw dropped, eyes stretching wide. Shane killed him, just like that. Shane walked away from the body slowly, looking dazed. He stood in front of a tree and tilted his head like he was confused. He then proceeded to run face first into the tree and drag his face down the bark, causing major cuts and possibly a broken nose. When Shane tore himself away from the tree, he laid on the ground panting and moaning. He took his hand a wiped away the excessive blood that was flowing down his nose to his chin. Emily didn't think she could be more shocked than she already was, a wince escaped her throat.

_What in the hell is Shane doing?!_ She couldn't comprehend it.

When Shane got up he shook his head like he was trying to shake himself awake. Emily remembered hearing him mumble.

"You can do this," He said as he hit himself in the forehead. "C'mon!" Shane paced angrily and then suddenly made a face like he was about to cry. He grabbed his head with each hand as if he were protecting himself from something falling onto his head and got down onto his knees. "He's your friend, man…" His voice cracked. He looked up, his face grew thoughtful and then contorted into angry determination. "Lori," He panted. He got up and began to walk away.

Emily backed up, her eyes fluttered across the ground, thoughtful herself. He couldn't possible mean to—to kill Rick, could he? Emily put a hand to her head, beginning to panic. That's why he killed Randall, he planned on making it look like Randall escaped and he smashed his face into a tree to make it seem like Randall beat the shit out of him. Oh my god… She had to stop him! That's when she took off to the house to gather her things. There was no time to waste, but Shane was smart to kill Randall so far off from the farm, it only meant she had quite the run to make herself.

It was getting dark when Emily finally burst through the front door, panting. The fire was still kindling and she ran over to the place in front of the fire where she kept her pack hidden under the floor. She took it out and began throwing things into the bag with no real care. In the middle of all her panic, she heard a floor board creak from behind. She turned and her eyes traveled to the crack at the bottom of the door. Shadows moved slowly across, someone is lurking just outside. Unsure of what to do in the split second she had, Emily turned to the table to her left where a bucket of water sat, grabbed it and flung the water onto the fire as the door burst open wide. The room went dark as the fire sizzled out, creating a thick smoke that heavily filled the room, concealing Emily from the intruder. Emily didn't need to see, she knew the layout of the house and she made a run for the upstairs. She could hear the intruder, shuffling about and coughing. She knew she had to be careful, there were multiple places in the floor upstairs that had large enough holes that one could fall through. She made her way across the floor quietly as she could to where one of the holes are. She peered over the hole, to the smoky ground below and could faintly make out the shape of a crossbow. That alone was enough for her to know who the intruder is and the familiar voice that spoke, confirmed her suspicion.

"C'mon out!" Daryl shouted.

Emily sighed. Literally any other day, but this one. "You couldn't have picked a worse time for a visit, you know that?" She called back.

She could see Daryl moving to another room searching for her. "Yeah? Just give us the kid and we'll leave,"

What did he mean? "Kid?" Emily asked.

"Don't play dumb. The kid we've been holdin'! Where is he?" Daryl moved out of her sight, further into the room.

Randall? They thought she had Randall? Why? "Why would you think I have him?" She asked, baffled and how did Daryl know she was here? They clearly didn't know Randall is dead yet, but what does that mean for the situation?

"Rick told us 'bout you, you're the only one that makes any sense," Daryl said.

That pissed her off. "How the _hell_ does that make sense to you? My god, how many IQ points did you lose when Andrea shot you?" As soon as those words left her mouth, she regretted it.

Daryl stopped moving, catching the part of her sentence Emily hoped he hadn't noticed. "How long have you been watchin' us?" He asked bitterly.

Emily's face scrunched together in regret. _Dammit_. Well no turning back now. "I… I know how that sounds, but all I've ever tried to do is help you guys. I'd never harm any of you,"

"Bullshit, you free'd the kid cause you're with his group. Probably been meaning to kill us the whole time," Daryl spat. He moved out of the room and into the next, crossbow at the ready.

"What? No!" Emily looked up towards the ceiling desperately, hoping someone up there would help her make him understand. "I helped you when you had your accident in the woods," She knew that wouldn't be enough, so she decided to use the only proof she had. "I see you're using the bolt I gave back to you. Do you have any idea how easy it would have been to slit your throats while you slept? But, I haven't! I've been watching you guys for weeks now, why would I help you at all if that's what I was planning to do and why wouldn't I have done it already? If you took a minute to actually _think_ about this you'd see that,"

The smoke had pretty much cleared by now. Luckily, it was dark and the only light they had was from the moon shinning in through the windows.

Daryl hadn't made a sound for a while, Emily could only assume he was thinking things over. "I know ya helped me," He finally said, it sounded like he was making sense of it.

"You do?" Emily asked surprised, she didn't think he remembered anything.

"I thought I imagined it, until Rick told us you helped 'em in town," He said.

"More like he helped me, he saved my life," Emily said.

"If you show yourself I might think about believing ya," He said as he continued to move through the house.

_Yeah that's going to happen_. She sneered. "How dumb do you think I am, dude? You'll just shoot me. You got a funny way of showing gratitude,"

"I ain't saying I won't shoot ya, but you'd be stupid to think I'd take my guard down," He replied.

She couldn't ask for more than that, she supposed. If she was in his situation, she'd do the same. "Fine, but for the record, I'm not armed. I know you won't believe that, but still gotta say it,"

"Yeah you're right. I don't believe it," Daryl agreed.

Emily sighed, she is out of options. Well here goes nothing, this might very well be her last moments. She walked toward the staircase and slowly descended with her arms raised in surrender, floor boards creaking beneath her weight. The moon's light shown through one of the large holes in the ceiling and Emily could see Daryl's figure in that light in the middle of the room with his crossbow still raised to eye level. When she finally made it to ground level, she was still concealed by the shadows; the light from the hole above didn't reach to the staircase.

Daryl could only make out the outline of her body in the dark corner. "Step towards me, slowly," He commanded.

Emily did. Took one step toward the light. The only thing she managed to uncover with that step, is the hands she held in front of her.

"More," Daryl said, watching her closely, itching to pull that trigger at the first sign of trouble.

Emily stepped one more time, the moonlight slowly drifting across her legs, torso and finally her head, revealing her face. She looked at Daryl as his head lifted from the sight of his crossbow, he lowered it slightly, no longer aiming it at her head, but her abdomen. Emily wasn't sure if that was on purpose or not. He scanned her up and down, from her cargo pants, up to her long sleeve shirt. His eyes soon rested on her face and lingered there a moment, taking it all in, matching this image of her to that of the one in his dream. The missing piece fit perfectly in place.

Daryl's eyes flickered down to Emily's belt. "Thought you said you weren't armed," He said with an accusing tone.

Emily looked down to her machete and then up at Daryl through her lashes like, _are you kidding me?_ "You have a _crossbow_, I'd be dead before I even touched the handle."

"Well, you're a smart one ain't ya?" Daryl said sarcastically.

Emily smiled in a dramatic way, but the smile quickly faded.

Daryl slowly walked towards her. "Turn around," he said gesturing with his crossbow.

Emily rolled her eyes, but obeyed and turned. She heard Daryl get closer and soon felt his hand patting her down from her back, waist, down and on either side of her legs. She thought about how easily she could have him on his ass from this position with his crossbow in her possession. But unless he gave her a reason, she'd never to do that. He finished his search and didn't find a thing, as she had said. However, he did disarm her of her machete and slid it in his belt. Daryl backed away where he stood before and watched as Emily slowly turned back around to face him.

"Happy?" She asked, annoyed.

Daryl didn't reply, just merely looked at her like he is trying to figure her out.

Feeling it no longer necessary, she lowered her hands. Daryl carefully watched every move she made. She decided to bring him up to speed. "Daryl… and yes, before you ask, I _do_ know your name," What is it with everyone asking that redundant question? "Shane killed Randall," She revealed. "He snapped his neck in the woods. I saw it. He's trying to make it look like Randall got the drop on him, but it's all a plot to kill Rick. You don't have to trust me, but I need you to believe me," She begged.

Daryl chewed on his lip, thoughtfully. "That story of his made no sense. Thought it was 'cause of you,"

Emily shook her head. "We have to hurry, Daryl. We may already be too late. I was on my way to find Rick when you decided to make an unannounced house call,"

Daryl lowered his crossbow fully. Emily isn't completely sure he trusted her yet, he still seemed wary and suspicious, but he must think she isn't going to kill him based on the fact he isn't pointing his bow at her anymore. It's a start. She noticed the wooden bolts attached to his quiver, he must've whittled them. Which reminded her of the gift she had for him.

"I have something for you," She said and cautiously went to retrieve the bolts she found while scavenging, very aware that if she made a move Daryl didn't like, he'd shoot her right quick.

Daryl looked confused and gripped his crossbow tight, in case it was some sort of trick.

Emily walked back and held out the quiver of bolts for him to take. "I found these along the road. I haven't had my own bow in months, so they're not much use to me, but I thought you could still use them. I hope they're the right size,"

Daryl looked from the bolts then to her in bewilderment and did not take the quiver right away. It had to be a trick, right? Nobody gets anything like that for free these days.

Emily saw the hesitation and understood why. "There's no catch. It's just a peace offering. Truce?" She asked him and gestured to the quiver in her hands. At first, Emily wasn't sure if he was going to take it or not. She could tell she threw him completely off track. But, he eventually gently took the quiver from her. "Either way, they'll work better than those wooden pieces of shit," She teased while a soft smile began to grow.

Daryl sneered. "They'd work just fine," He defended.

Emily snorted. "Yeah, that'd be one hell of a splinter,"

Daryl grunted and began to swap the wooden bolts he had for the new ones. He already had a quiver mounted, so he just tossed the new one to the side when they heard Glenn yell.

"Daryl!"

Emily was slightly startled by Glenn's call. She had no idea he was here. Daryl hurried outside with Emily following closely behind once she grabbed her pack. When they made it out the door they saw what had made Glenn so concerned. Randall's corpse stumbled across the pasture towards them. Daryl walked up a couple steps, took aim and shot Randall through the forehead. Randall's head snapped back as he fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.

Daryl turned to Emily. "Thought you said his neck was broke,"

Emily didn't look at Daryl when she replied, just looked at Randall's body, stunned at his presence. "It is."

They all walked up to the body to check Randall's injuries. Daryl began searching, pulling up Randall's shirt and moving him from side to side.

"Looks like you were telling the truth," Daryl said observing the broken neck. "But he's got no bites," He said, confused.

"Yeah, that you can see," Glenn said.

"No, I'm telling you, he died from this." Daryl said referring to Randall's broken neck.

"How's that possible?" Glenn asked.

The three shared concerned looks while the question remained unanswered.

Glenn looked to Emily and Daryl. Daryl hadn't killed her, so there must be a reason. "So, what happened?" Emily brought Glenn up to speed about what Shane had done, leaving him just as concerned as they are. "What are we gonna do?" He asked.

"Well, first we gotta find—" Emily started and got cut off by a gunshot cracking the air in the distance ahead, the sound echoed meaning it was pretty far from where they are. Their heads snapped in the direction of the echo. Emily's heart stopped. "Rick," She breathed. Oh god, were they too late? "We gotta go,"

Daryl nodded his head. "Let's head back to the farm. No sense in chasin' gun shots in the dark."

Emily didn't like that idea, she wanted to go find Rick now. What if she could help? But what Daryl said is true, even with the moon shinning so bright, there's no saying she could find Rick in the dark. Going back to the farm to re-group is the smartest move.

But Emily is not going to the farm unarmed, they had no idea what to expect when they got there. For all they knew Shane is really losing his shit and has everyone gun point. "You gonna give me my machete back or am I supposed to just live on a hope and a prayer that my finger nails will do the trick?" She asked Daryl.

Daryl looked her over, distrust laced his eyes. He didn't say a thing until Glenn spoke up. "Daryl, we can trust her. She hasn't given us a reason not to,"

"Yet," Daryl said. Despite the fact that she's been helping them, they still didn't know a damn thing about her. Although, it went it against all logic in his head, he unenthusiastically pulled the machete from his belt and handed it to Emily. He realized when he went into that house, intent on possibly killing her, Emily never once tried to kill him even though she clearly had the upper hand. He didn't know the layout of the house and she knew where he was the whole time. She never even attempted to harm him, which definitely struck him as odd and is possibly the only reason he has the tiniest bit of trust. "Let's go," Daryl tossed the sling of his crossbow over his head and took off in a jog.

Emily took the machete from Daryl and looked to Glenn. "Thanks," She said to him, without his input she doubted Daryl would have been as cooperative.

Glenn nodded and pursed his lips. "Don't make me regret it," He said and took off after Daryl.

_You won't._

Emily slid her machete back into place on her belt and followed close behind Glenn and Daryl. The three scampered through the forest, not caring that they were making a lot of noise by crunching leaves and breaking sticks along the way. Stealth is not a main concern at the moment, just making it to the farm as fast as they could get there is the only concern.

"I didn't catch your name," Glenn said loud enough for Emily to hear him.

"Emily," She said, mimicking his tone which is loud enough for both Glenn and Daryl to hear. "Emily Cooper."

* * *

When the three emerged from the tree line the sight they beheld was startling, they stopped abruptly in shock. Walkers were coming out of the woods from the backside of the barn by the dozens. There's a group of them gathered by the barn doors, trying to get inside.

Where the hell did they all come from? Were they apart of the herd that they drew out in town? That was Emily's best guess. Her eyes scanned the property, the walkers hadn't made it to the house yet. They still had a chance to get everyone out of there before their exits are cut off.

"Oh my god," Glenn breathed. "Maybe they're just passing, like the herd on the highway. Maybe we should just stay in the house?"

"Not unless there's a tunnel downstairs that I don't know about," Daryl answered. "A herd that size would rip the house down,"

"Definitely," Emily agreed. "If something goes wrong you'd be trapped inside," She nodded toward the house. "We need to get the other's ready,"

"For what?" Daryl asked, baffled. Neither he nor Glenn could see a way out of this that doesn't involve fleeing for their lives.

"To fight. Survive. Whatever they need to, but we can't just sit here with our thumbs up our asses," Emily said.

Daryl stayed silent, but he knew either way, they'd have to fight a walker or two. Best be prepared. He wordlessly took off to the house, running with Glenn. Emily groaned. Not more running. Why is it that she never used to run this much until she met this group? At least she'll stay in shape.

Once they made it to the house, Hershel, Maggie, Andrea, Dale, T-Dog and Carol were out on the porch, looking at the horror awaiting them. All except Rick and Shane. Emily grew more worried, Shane still had Rick out there. She looked toward the direction of the barn and was instantly reminded of a more pressing threat at the moment. Wherever Rick is she hoped he could hold his own.

Maggie was the first to notice them, she walked up to the fence that wrapped around the porch. She looked relieved beyond compare. "Thank God you're—" She stopped suddenly at the sight of Emily.

Emily noticed her surprised face as well as the rest of the groups. Feeling a bit awkward, she lightly smiled at them while she made her way up the steps. She noticed that unlike everyone else, Hershel was looking at her with a similar smile as hers.

When Glenn stepped up the stairs, he gave Maggie a hug and a quick peck on the cheek, Maggie never took her eyes off Emily. "It's okay. She's good," He told her. "She's the one who helped Rick and I get out of town." Maggie's concerned face slowly broke into a warm smile.

"I'm Emily Cooper," She greeted.

"Maggie Greene," Maggie replied.

Hershel stepped up to her left. "It's good to see you again,"

Emily turned to him. "You too. Although, I wish it were under better circumstances,"

Hershel said. "Well we'd be grateful for the help, it looks like we're gonna need it."

"That's why I'm here," Emily confirmed.

Andrea bent over to Dale to whisper in his ear and although it was meant to be a silent comment, everyone else could hear what she said. "So, what, now were just taking in strays? We don't know anything about her,"

Dale turned her with a tense expression. "She's here to help us. Why else would she be here when there's a great possibility she could get torn to shreds by those things?" He pointed to the hoard of walkers. "They're the enemy! _She_ gets that and I'd say it's about damn time we start taking in strays,"

Andrea shook her head at Dale, disagreeing with him. Emily wasn't looking for anyone's approval, she only wanted to help. If they didn't want to let her in their little group she isn't going to waste any tears over it. Still, it felt good when Dale stuck up for her like that. Emily couldn't decide if it was smart or naïve of him, but she appreciated it and gave him a small gratuitous smile.

Various weapons lie inside a black duffel bag they laid on the porch floor. All guns. Emily warily looked at them as she watched Maggie starting to pass them around. This is one situation that made her nervous to use a gun. Too many innocent people could get caught in the cross fire.

"Maggie…" Emily heard Glenn say. He was surprised at her eagerness and how easily she was able to hand him a shotgun like she was just handing him a cocktail.

Maggie began to load her own shotgun. "When you grow up country, you pick up a thing or two." She mildly said.

Daryl did not seem convinced that a few shotguns could handle the situation. "I got the numbers… It's no use," He said.

"You can go if you want," Hershel said, preparing his shotgun.

Hershel's sudden drive to kill walkers when he was doing all he could to protect them not even a week ago gave Daryl quite the surprise. "You're gonna take 'em all on?" Daryl asked.

"We have guns. We have cars." Hershel concluded as he cocked his shotgun, signaling the end of the discussion.

Hershel is living proof that anyone can adapt to their surroundings. This guy was just a measly old farmer that wouldn't harm a fly, now he's bound determined to blow a walker's head off with no questions asked.

_Hell yeah, Hershel get 'em_.

Andrea was bent down in the bag retrieving her own weapon. "Kill as many as you can," She said in agreement. Despite her reluctance to have Emily here at all, Andrea handed Emily a pistol seeing that she didn't have a fire arm in her possession.

Emily shook her head, declining the offer. "Uh thanks, but no thanks. I'm good." She said patting the handle of her machete to show Andrea that she was just fine using that.

Andrea's eyebrows shot up in surprise. She scoffed. "Cocky much?"

Emily's lips grew into a wicked smile. _Oh… once Shane is dead you're next on my list_. "Hm, no," She stifled a laugh and looked at the weapon in Andrea's hand. "A handgun huh? Sure you don't want a rifle? I seem to remember you're a real crack shot with one," She turned her head to Daryl with a fake, puzzled look. "How's your head Daryl?"

Daryl couldn't tell if Emily wanted a response or not, but he understood her sarcasm and decided not to answer her. Andrea glared daggers into Emily. If Andrea didn't like her before that certainly isn't going to change now.

Maggie turned Glenn with tight smile, suppressing laughter. "I like her," She said.

Emily thought about what Andrea said, of course you want to kill as many as you can, but with a herd that size, there's no way they'd be able to kill all those walkers. Plus, the gun fire will only draw more. They had to find a way to get the walkers to go a different direction. Like a diversion. That gave her an idea.

"Your plan is good in theory and all, but you'll tire out and run out of ammo before you even make a dent. They'll be on top of you in no time and then what will you do?" Emily said.

Andrea, still glaring at her, shrugged her shoulders. "Then what do you suggest?"

Emily looked back at the massive herd inevitably approaching. "Use the cars and lead as many of them away from the house as you can, shoot them along the way,"

That sounded like a good idea to everyone, but Daryl. He looked to Hershel. "Are you serious?"

"This is my farm. I'll die here." Hershel said in no laughing matter. He was serious beyond reason and started to walk away to get shit done.

Emily chuckled, amazed at the stubbornness of old men. She looked back at the others who didn't find it as amusing as her. "Oh, I'm with him," She smiled, pointing her thumbs in his direction. Hell hath no fury like a generational farmer with a farm to protect. Hershel is also the only one in this group with actual medical training which meant his survival is quite necessary and Emily would see to it that he made it through the night.

When everyone started to part ways to put the plan into action, Emily suddenly remembered a very important thing. "Hey, wait!" She called. Daryl had just hopped over the railing of the porch while everyone else paused and looked to her. "If this doesn't work and we have to bail," She began and pointed in the direction of the highway. "Head to the right, where the road forks off. I lined the trees every quarter mile with red cloth. Follow it, it's a rendezvous spot that's safe, we can regroup there."

Nobody knew what to say to that. They all shared uncertain looks, unsure if they should be grateful or suspicious. Daryl nodded once at her and ran for his bike. Emily wasn't sure if they trusted what she said, but hoped that if worst came to worst they would at least give it a shot. Hershel decided to post himself just a few feet from the porch, locked, loaded and ready for anything that dared threaten his home. The rest ran for their cars.

Not moments later after everyone had a vehicle and headed to the fence in front of the barn, the barn caught fire, the orange flames burning bright against the night sky. The cracking embers caught the attention of the walkers closest to the barn. It drew them in like a bug zapper attracting insects. That fire didn't just start itself, someone had to have started it. Emily's thoughts instantly went to Rick. What if it was him who started it? But there isn't anything that she could do from her position, if she knew the fire is man-made, so did the others. They would make sure Rick or whomever it was got out safely. She had her own job to do. Emily and Hershel watched from their position as the group drove in a line along the fence, firing their weapons, walkers dropped left and right as a result.

Daryl rode his motorcycle and parked in front of the fence. He used a pistol instead of his crossbow. Jimmy rode in the RV with Dale, they too parked their vehicle, but in front of the large open entrance in the fence. Dale fired his gun from his driver's window while Jimmy fired from the passenger side. Maggie and Glenn were in a car together, Maggie drove while Glenn hung out the window firing his shotgun. They were followed by Andrea and T-Dog in a truck, Andrea is the one leaning out their window firing her pistol. The two vehicles drove down along the fence and then turned to drive back the other way once they got too far. It seemed to be working, the walkers were drawn to them easily, but there is just too many.

Despite all the gun fire, the walkers were getting past the RV, heading up to the house. Hershel began firing off rounds. Emily took that as her cue and walked forward, making sure she didn't get in the way of Hershel's fire. Her eyes wandered through the herd of walker's coming towards her, she's never taken on so many at once before.

_There's a first time for everything, right? Here goes nothing._

Emily rolled up her sleeves, took a deep breath and twirled the machete in her hand. She raised her arms high, gripping the machete with both hands and brought the blade down at an angle, cutting off the walkers head off, messily. Blood sprayed onto her face, but she didn't bother to wipe it off. There isn't time, once she dropped one walker another took its place in no time. Emily angled her machete to stab the next one in the forehead. The wound made a very unpleasant squelching noise when the blade entered the flesh. Emily withdrew the blade now slick with blood, she twirled it in her hands once again and swung it into her next victim. Again and again she stabbed, sliced, chopped. Not stopping and not slowing down. The sounds of Hershel's shotgun and the moans of the walkers made for a deafening noise that Emily found she could get lost in easily. Especially with the hard focus of slicing and dicing the walkers. She had to look behind her every now and then to check on Hershel and to make sure the walkers haven't circled around her.

It seemed to never end. They just kept coming. Emily managed to create a gap between her and the next group of walkers. She took the time to rest for the moment she had, she panted heavily and put her hands on her hips. In the middle of the quick break, she saw Dale move the RV down towards the barn. It came to a stop along the side and she saw two figures jump onto its roof. A tall slender man and smaller figure with a cowboy hat. It was Rick and Carl! Rick did start the fire after all. Emily's relief at seeing Rick alive and well was soon replaced with worry. When Rick and Carl got on top of the RV it didn't move. Rick waited for Dale to drive away, but he didn't.

_The hell is he waiting for!_

Then she heard it. Screams. Rick nor Carl were making the screams, but someone from RV is. The RV started rocking, which had to mean walkers managed to get inside and were killing either Jimmy or Dale or both.

Out of instinct, Emily began to run for them, but stopped after a couple paces, knowing she couldn't make it there in time. She sliced a walker in the face that stumbled up on her right without even looking at it, she was too concerned about the situation down below.

Seeing that Dale was indisposed at the moment, Rick went to the back of the RV where the ladder is to climb down. He began to descend, putting one foot down on the rung and then the other. He held onto the ladder with one hand and took out his revolver with the other and began shooting some walkers that were getting too close. Suddenly and without warning, the RV shot forward. Surprised, Rick grabbed on to the ladder as tight as he could. Carl fell down on his hands, but managed to stay on top of the roof. Dale drove the RV forward a few feet, trying to get away from the walkers swarming the vehicle, but the RV stopped moving despite Dale's attempts to push forward. The tires spun and spun, unable to go anywhere. Too many walkers had crowded the front of the RV and when Dale ran over them, the bodies had piled up underneath so much so that the tires couldn't gain anymore traction. The tires spun out due to the slick blood of the dead. Rick hopped down from the ladder and motioned for Carl to follow. Rick waited for Carl to make it safely down before they began to run from the area the walkers were swarming at an alarming rat. Rick ran to the front to try to help Dale get out of there. But, it was too late. When Rick made it to the front, a massive spray of Dale's blood splattered onto the windshield and his screams sounded within. Seeing that nothing more could be done, Rick and Carl abandoned whatever is left of Dale in the RV. Father and son ran safely into the woods for cover.

Emily put a hand to her head feeling distraught and closed her eyes in denial. They just lost Dale and Jimmy. Dammit! If only she could've been there to help… There wasn't time to think about such thoughts. The dead were getting closer. So, she turned grief into rage, giving her enough energy to keep fighting. Though her body is beginning to protest. After Emily took down another four walkers with a fierce snarl, she looked around the expansion of the farm. There's just too many and they're too spread out to round up with the vehicles now. The farm is lost. They needed to get everyone out of the area.

She looked to Hershel, who is still gunning down the dead, he hadn't even move from his spot once.

"C'mon!" He shouted, daring them to get within an inch of his house.

Getting him to leave the area would be no easy task, she'd probably have to disarm him and drag his ass out of here. Something caught Emily's eye, she looked toward the house to see a frantic Lori and Carol on the porch. Carol retreated back inside the house while Lori walked forward looking at all the chaos outside.

"Carl!" She screamed.

Lori didn't know where he is! Emily ran to her and shouted her name trying to get her attention. "Lori!"

Lori looked in her direction with a confused expression. She didn't know who Emily is. She had been in the house when Emily, Daryl and Glenn came back to the farm. "Who the hell are you?" She yelled at her.

_Whoa bitch, let's take it down a number._

"It's a long story," Emily said out of breath. "Carl is with Rick, they're fine. You need to go with the others and get the hell out of here!"

Lori's eyes quickly traveled from Emily to behind her and went wide. "Watch out!" She yelled in a panic.

Emily quickly looked behind her and just as soon as she laid eyes on the walker that almost had its jaws on her. A gunshot cracked and the walker fell to the floor dead. Stunned, Emily looked back at Lori, who had a small revolver out, still pointing in her direction.

"Nice shot," Emily praised with her eyebrows raised_, holy shit. _

"Lori," Carol said from behind Lori. She had Beth and Patricia with her, they were ready to leave.

Lori bent down and grabbed the duffel bag with a few guns remaining inside that wouldn't have been any use, such as the rifle. "Hershel!" She yelled. "Hershel! It's time to go now!"

Hershel is in his own little world, he couldn't hear anything. Emily knew even if he could, he wouldn't go willingly, but Lori and the others don't have time to waste. They needed to leave without him.

"I'll stay with him," Emily said.

"But—"

"I'll get him out, I promise, you need to go," Emily interrupted Lori with a stern voice. "And Lori, make sure you follow the road to the right there's a path. I marked the trees with red tags, they'll lead you to the others,"

_I hope._

Lori's eye flickered from Hershel to Emily. She didn't have much of a choice but to trust this stranger, did she? Lori turned and ran to Carol, Beth and Patricia. Together they took off in the direction of the road behind the house.

Emily ran to Hershel to try and talk some sense into him. "Hershel!" She cried over the sound of his shotgun blast. She came up next to his side and knew he could hear her. "Hershel," He was just blatantly ignoring her now and it was pissing her off. She put her arm over the top of his and forced his arm down, bringing the shotgun down too. The last round fired into the ground. "Enough!" She yelled.

"No!" Hershel cried resisting. He managed to free his arm from Emily and the two glared at each other for a short while.

"It's over! Lori and Carol have left with Beth and Patricia. You need to go with your family!" Emily said. "You're no good to them dead!"

Hershel's face was full of rage and determination, but Emily saw just the slightest hint of confliction. It didn't matter though. "Get out of here," He snarled. "Leave me, I've made my choice," He cocked his shotgun and began firing again.

Baffled, Emily shook her head.

_Stubborn old fool!_

Emily peered down at the machete in her hands.

_Looks like you picked the hard way._

Emily narrowed her eyes at Hershel, she walked up behind him, planning on knocking him out with the handle of the machete and dragging his stubborn ass off this farm. She raised her arm, intending on knocking him out when something moved ahead to her right. Carol ran toward a shed, frantic and screaming. The dead are chasing her, trapping her against the shed with nowhere to go.

Emily lowered her arm and was about to make a break for Carol when Andrea got there first. She shot the walkers that were advancing on Carol. When Andrea stood in triumph Carol screamed. "Look out!"

Andrea turned and fired a round as a walker fell on top of her. Carol ran from the scene in fright, heading in the direction of the barn.

Bad choice. She's going to get trapped and killed.

Emily isn't sure what happened to Andrea, she isn't sure if the walker got _her_ before she got _it_ or not. There isn't time to check either. Besides, Andrea is more than capable of holding her own. Carol is the one that needed help currently. Emily took off for Carol, leaving Hershel's side. If he wants to die on his stupid farm, let him.

If Emily took the time to kill every walker that crossed her path, Carol would surely die, for she wouldn't reach her in time. She shoved some aside and dodged as many as she could. She may not have been able to save Sophia, but she would damn sure save her mother. The closer to the barn she got, the thicker the walkers became.

This isn't good. What the _hell_ is Carol thinking going this way? Emily lost sight of her for a while, but was soon able to push passed a large group of walkers into a clearing. Carol had stopped running ahead, walkers cut off her path, so she went right, but same result. She turned to run left and again had no luck. Trapped, once again she screamed seeing that she was out of options. Emily scrambled for her, a walker managed to grab a hold of Carol's arm, but as soon as Emily got within machete length of the walker, who chose Carol for his main course, Emily chopped its arm off, following its head. Blood squirted all over Carol, she flinched, revolted by it. Not even bothering with the other walkers, Emily grabbed Carols same arm and pulled her along.

"C'mon!" Emily yelled.

Shocked, Carol ran with her. She didn't care to remove Emily's hand, for fear of losing her. Emily didn't take any chances this time, now that she had to worry about Carol's safety. She swung for any walker who got close to them. Up ahead, Emily saw Rick and Carl. They were running to Hershel, probably intending on grabbing him and getting off the farm. Emily stopped running, bringing Carol to a halt as well.

"Okay, do you see Rick, Carl and Hershel ahead?" She asked Carol. Carol wildly nodded, still scared out of her wits. "Go straight to them, there aren't many walkers in your way. Just avoid them. Scream, shout, do whatever you must to get Rick's attention so they don't leave without you. I'm going to try and look for Andrea," Carol looked, unsure, with tears in her eyes. "Carol!" Emily shook her. "You can do this, straight to them, understood?" Carol nodded again. "Go! Make sure Rick knows to follow the red tags!" Emily shoved her forward. Carol made a run for Rick while Emily stood and watched her for a second. Making sure she followed her directions. Carol began screaming and waving her arms once she got closer to them.

Emily hadn't thought much about how _she_ is going to get out of here. Just walking she supposed, but looking around at all the walkers that were spread out due to the cars leaving, most likely more running. My _god_, she couldn't keep running for much longer. She was so tired.

Emily really didn't care about Andrea and she honestly isn't someone that Emily would go out of her way to help. But, she is important to the rest of the group and that's enough. She looked around and couldn't see her, she decided to run up to where Emily saw her fall last and check if the walker did get her after all. But, when she made it to the shed, there was no body that she could see, not even a trace of blood. There is one walker lying face down, with a hole blown out of it's skull. That had to be the one that Andrea shot, which meant that she's still alive somewhere. Maybe she already caught a ride from somebody? Either way, Emily still wanted to make sure no one got left behind. Maybe doing a once around the farm isn't such a good idea, but if she kept moving, she should be fine.

Emily turned back around, jogging down the dirt road back to the barn. She heard a car peel out of the driveway and looked back, still jogging. Carol made it out with Rick and the others. She smiled, relieved.

_Thank god._

In the moment, it took for Emily to turn her head to catch the sight of the others heading out to safety, a walker darted out in her path. Emily brought her head back around and gasped seeing the walker. She tried to stop, but she didn't have enough time to dart out of the way. She collided with it and tumbled to the ground on top of it, losing her machete in the process. The walker clawed at her and leaned up to try to take a bite out of her very exposed neck. Emily desperately tried to get off it, she fought with its hands, trying to make sure it didn't rip her flesh off. She had managed to grip its left arm with her right hand, pinning it down. When it leaned in to take a bite, Emily was able to stop it with her left forearm against its neck. The walker growled and snapped its jaws still trying to reach her. It grabbed a hold of her hair with its free hand and pulled. Emily screamed in pain, leaning in with the pull to relieve pressure.

The entire commotion is drawing in more walkers, they began to slowly make their way towards them and Emily started to panic. Her pony tail came undone, her long caramel hair now lose, thanks to grasp the walker under her had her in. The skin along the walkers neck she is forcing back with her arm began to split and ooze blood. She could feel the slick, cold, exposed muscles rubbing against her skin. It was a sickening feeling, but she used it to her advantage and leaned her weight in on the neck. She gritted her teeth and sank her arm deeper in the cool blood, tearing the tendons and muscles along the way. She was hoping to split its neck, but it's going to take too long. She caught sight of the machete lying up by the walker's head to her right. If she let loose of its right arm she could get it, but she had to be fast. She let the arm go, reaching for the machete. The walkers, now free arm, went to her face. Emily began to feel a lot of pressure on her face, knowing it was about to try and tear her skin. Whimpering, she grabbed a hold of the machete handle, jerked the walkers hand off her face with her upper arm and quickly swung the blade down, splitting its skull. Its growls stopped instantly.

Emily yanked the machete out of the base of its skull and rolled off the body, just as the other walkers were all but on top of her. Emily, still on her ass, looked up at the walkers that had swarmed next to her in fear. They surrounded her at every angle, like circle of people would gathered to watch a fight and they were closing in. Emily panicked and scrambled up to her feet. She kicked the walker closest to her in the knee, breaking it and causing it to fall to the ground. Emily killed it effortlessly and spun around, splitting the skull of the next walker. Every time one fell she spun around in a different direction to kill another. She even ran forward to shove a bunch of them over, but every time she succeeded to buy herself more time from one direction, the other direction was only inches away of ending her life. Emily panted and groaned from the effort of seeing no end of killing in sight. Even though she made progress of making a path out, more and more walkers were filling the gaps. She had no ride, no strength and no energy left in her. She's done, she had to face the fact that she isn't getting off this farm. The machete grew heavy in her hands, she heaved and winced. Emily looked around her, defeated, there's no place to retreat to.

Just when she thought all hope was lost, the sound of a motorcycle rumbled in the distance. Weary, Emily looked ahead. It was Daryl! He came back for her! Daryl rolled the motorcycle to a stop and revved the engine.

"C'mon! I ain't got all day!" Daryl yelled.

Emily breathed what was between a sigh of relief and a chuckle. She was so happy to see him, she could cry. The sight of transportation out of this death trap gave her the strength to jog one last time towards him. She had to shove passed a few walkers that got in her way with her shoulder, causing her to actually stumble a little after the effort.

_Yeah, I'm done. _She thought.

Emily finally reached Daryl. She quickly wiped the blood off her machete on her pants, shoved it in its sheath and situated herself on the back of his bike. For a split a second, she was reluctant to put her arms around his waist. It seemed like maybe she was invading his personal space, but she had to hang on somehow, so the thought was gone as soon as it came. She wrapped her arms around his middle, tightly. Just as a big heard that had followed Emily to Daryl's bike was close enough to them that Emily could kick one of them. Daryl, peeled out, kicking up dirt and rocks and leaving the walkers in the dust. Daryl had to weave around walkers here and there, but beyond that it was a fairly easy ride. He followed the road until it forked off and Emily pointed to one of the trails that she marked. It wasn't easy to see the marker in the dark, she hoped the others were able to.

Emily leaned in to Daryl's ear and spoke loud enough over the roar of the engine. "How did you know to come back for me?"

Daryl kept his eyes on the road, but turned his head back to her slightly, also trying to talk over the motorcycles loud engine. "I heard ya scream,"

"Oh," Emily said, probably not loud enough for him to hear. "Thank you. I couldn't have gone on any longer," She spoke up.

Daryl nodded his head. "Guess we're even,"

Emily smiled. Yes, she supposed they were.

"How long till we reach the others?" He asked.

"About 15 minutes," Emily replied.

The rest of the ride was quiet and the sun is starting to rise. Emily rested the left side of her face against Daryl's back. Thinking about how close to death she came and unnerved at the thought of being ripped a part by the dead. She's never been afraid of death, just afraid of how she would die and being eaten alive by a bunch of walking corpses is not how she would choose to go out. She grew anxious to see who made it out okay and if they were all in one piece. But most importantly, she was just glad to sit and relax. The muscles in her arms ached, she is definitely going to feel that in the morning. She could feel a weakness in her legs as well.

Emily tucked her face more inward to Daryl's back, taking in his warmth and trying to keep out of the wind. What is the group going to do now? Just live life on the road and try to survive? That's all she's ever done. No, they couldn't do that, they'd have to find another place to set up camp. Especially with winter almost upon them. A group this big can't live like that, they need to settle. Emily had no idea where, but she supposed they could worry about that when they regrouped with everyone. Was she a part of this group now? Rick gave her his blessing, but perhaps he'd change his mind once he found out that she's been watching them for about a month now. She wouldn't blame him. Emily didn't care much about it, she just hoped everyone is okay. Emily breathed a tired sigh. If it wasn't for Daryl, she would be dead right now. She felt grateful to be alive and grateful to her savior. Apparently, he didn't think as badly of her as she thought. Could Daryl possibly be starting to trust her? What a crazy thought. She smiled, amusing herself. What could come of Daryl's trust? He'd be a useful ally, he's very capable. Definitely a person you'd want around when shit hits the fan. All those things are great, but Emily thought perhaps the most appealing thing of all, if she even dared to think it possible, would be friendship. Only time would tell.

* * *

**Not where I planned on ending this, but I wanted to get something out to you guys pronto considering I was over a week late. I'm sure this won't be the last delay with the holidays coming up either, but hang in there and know that I'm always working on the next chapter.**

** Don't forget to R&R! You guys have had wonderful things to say and I'm grateful for your feedback :)**


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